driftwood

handpicked. flowers, a review and a givewaway!

2012-01-26T20:12:00.000Z

for the first time this year I have something other than mud in my garden! what a thrill it is to look out and see signs of life. "So far" it's not been a harsh winter, especially compared to the last two, (although I'm not getting complacent, there's time yet.............................)

Anyway check out these gorgeous little snowdrops, they make me smile with their gentle simplicity, no brash colours, or fancy frills, just nodding heads gracefully bowing.
With the encouragement and inspiration of many lovely blogs, I have really enjoyed starting the act of growing and picking a few flowers and bringing them in the house, but last year I was constantly in search of teeny tiny vases to display the few little buds that I collected.
A recent email with the lovely people at the handpicked collection has solved my display problems beautifully.
This teeny tiny little caterpillar bud vase has six little bubble like spheres, perfect for one delicate little bloom.

Product name: Caterpillar Bud Vase
Product price: £9.95
Product details: Glass. Size: 24cm x 6cm.
Stockist name: The Handpicked Collection
Stockist phone: 0844 482 9736
Stockist website: www.handpickedcollection.com

The handpicked collection have a great range of products, there are some really lovely things that would make great gift ideas for Valentines or Mother's Day or just because.... My vase came very quickly and was packaged with those disolving packing peanuts, top marks from me there. I am looking forward to spring bringing me more flowers to fill it with. I should like to have a different flower in each ball I think.

Now for the good bit,
if you want a of caterpillar bud vases of your own, either
a)pop over and buy one - if you're quick they're in the sale!
or
b) UK readers can leave me a comment telling me which item they like best on the website and next Friday 3rd Feb I'll randomly draw a winner who will get a lovely vase in the post direct from the Handpicked Collection.

and just because I dont show my face often, here's me, with my pretty new vase gracing the mantelpiece, so you can see how cute and teeny tiny it really is. Lovely.

happy new knitting

2012-01-09T10:16:00.000Z

I think I may have fallen into some sort of time vortex as the last two weeks have disappeared without me realising, and it is now far too late to do a last year round up, or a new years aspirations post, or just new years wishes, so instead how about some happy new knitting.

I've cast on a shawl using the sock yarn I bought at the knitting and stitching show, it's supposedly a very simple pattern, that uses yarn overs to create eyelets and to increase the shape. It was all going so well till I dropped the middle marker and then put it back in the wrong place...... oh well, I just have a unique placement of holes that's all.......

Mostly I am mesmerized by the colour changes, and enjoying watching it grow and grow.

Have you started any happy new projects?

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T12:11:00.002Z

wishing you all a very Merry Christmas

may it be filled with love, laughter and happy memories

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T21:11:00.000Z

when you are sure that your Christmas tree (stick....) is perfectly decorated,

then it is time for a brisk walk,

and a little stone reindeer making

just incase Rudolf needs an extra helper this year

an excess of cookie cutters

2011-12-18T17:33:00.000Z

there was some gingerbread dough left over from the pinecones so I got out the other cookie cutters to choose a few different ones. apparently (according to the rest of the family,) it's not normal to have two large(ish) boxes of cookie cutters, and I have a ridiculously large collection of them. so many in fact that some escaped into the garden.

well I'm sorry but I beg to differ, we're going visiting tomorrow, and if I come across any cookshops I know what I'll be looking out for.

what do you have lots of, but can never resist?

gingerbread pinecones

2011-12-14T16:03:00.000Z

This post is inspired by Emma's making winter and her making winter pinecone tutorial
which looks fantastic, and I wanted to make some straight away but I didn't have the clay and was too impatient to wait......

but it's ok, I have an alternative, and it allowed me to indulge in one of my Christmas passions, and make pinecones too.

Gingerbread dough!

I couldn't get the cookies to shape very well, even when warm they cracked, but I stuck them together with icing, and I have a secret weapon when it comes to decorating.

everything Always looks better when covered with the icing sugar snow!

go here to see more making winter festivities

Happy 11th Birthday E

2011-12-13T07:52:00.001Z

take 2 chocolate logs, a Lot of melted chocolate, a tube or two of smarties and a bit of wizardry and you have one broomstick. perfect for a Harry Potter watching party, which captivated 6 boys for some of the time, leaving them plenty of free time to run round the house playing tig, leaping out from behind doors and shouting Boo, and giggling a lot.

now if only I'd learnt a magic spell that would tidy up all the mess................................

happy birthday Miss K

2011-12-12T12:52:00.000Z

It was Miss K's birthday on Saturday. we now officially have a teenager in the house.......
when she looked outide this was her present. well she got lots of books and music too, but the snow was hugely exciting.

later there was a sleepover, and giggling, and making snow globes, and cake. of course!

the car and I got a present on Saturday too - winter tyres. we are now prepared for the worst the British weather can throw at us, so hopefully from now on we will have the mildest winter on record.

what day is it?

2011-12-06T14:33:00.000Z

I wrote an email to a friend this morning, and ended it happy Wednesday.
a couple of hours later it occurred to me that it is Tuesday.........

the days are rushing by in a bit of a blur,
and I feel a bit like this

but if I slow down a bit then things calm down, and become clearer,

and sometimes amongst the chaos you find you have booked a treat for yourself (by booking a workshop for your sister in law, and then having to go too!) and now I am waiting impatiently for my glass Christmas bauble to cool safely and then be posted to me.

and then let the decorating begin xxx

end of the monthness

2011-11-30T22:50:00.000Z

with both children off school today we went out to take photos for the scavenger hunt.
I took one. only one. oh well.
then we had hot chocolate. I guess I could have photographed that...
and we came home to get warm, and Miss K who has an ear infection and is rather grumpy patient lay on the sofa.
a bit of end of the month blah ish really.
so I got out the fairy lights and put some of them up.
much better.
fairy lights make everything better don't you think?
and tea
and cake.
simple pleasures.
what are your "make it better" tips?

scandinavian needlecraft

2011-11-29T21:22:00.000Z

this week I recieved a wonderful parcel of goodies from Annie and Laura from their birthday giveaway.
As well as gorgeous fabrics it included this wonderful book, scandinavian needlecraft.

this dandelion head embroidery is calling to me,

but first I think some of the Christmas projects are crying out to be made.

and I think this little bird garland and these horse gift tags are going to be the perfect craft ideas for Miss K's birthday party.

thank you sooo much x

the kindness of stangers

2011-11-28T07:38:00.002Z

to the man in the car park who gave me £1 so I had enough change to buy a parking ticket.

Thank you.

knit and stitch part 2

2011-11-27T21:44:00.002Z

I had a great trip to the knitting and stitching, there is So Much to see, from graduate students, to charity community projects, paper, kniting, sculptures, quilts (not enough for my liking...........) and stalls galore.
Ali summed it up perfectly. the choice is so overwhelming I came away with next to nothing...........

my ravelry favourites list has grown extensively though, and I have a head full of projects I am itching to start!

a days texting

2011-11-26T21:32:00.000Z

hello where are you? love K

At Uncle A's

I miss you mummy :( come home soon love K xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Miss you too squishy, on way home now. looking forward to cuddles. love u. mummmy xxxxxxxxxxxxx

hello mummy when will you be home love K xxxxxxxxx

20 minutes. tell daddy to put the kettle on. love u. mummy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Daddy doesn't want to wear the kettle! K xx

going to the knitting and stitching

2011-11-25T18:07:00.000Z

The Knitting and Stitching show is according to the website

"The definitive and best exhibition in Textiles"

that's a pretty extragavant claim. I'm going to the Harrogate show, and I will let you know if I think it lives up to it. oh and I might come back with lots of wool, and pretty sparkly beads, and fabric, and buttons, and threads, and felting supplies and probably sore feet.............

planning a grand day out

2011-11-24T12:04:00.001Z

train tickets - check
snacks for train- check
crochet for the train - check
Christmas pudding hat to deliver to new baby - check
fridge full of food for abandoned family - of course........

back soon x

looks like fun to me.

2011-11-23T22:02:00.000Z

I used to work in a lab a little like this.

it was never this much fun though.

hair styles

2011-11-22T23:16:00.000Z

I am beginning to think I need a hair cut, whilst I don't look quite this bad it's not far off. But I took E to the hairdressers at the weekend and the trauma of taking a 10 year old boy who really didn't want to go, (but was fed up of his hair being in his eyes - can't have it all.............) and the memories of sitting in front of a mirror and making inane small talk was enough to get me out of there quick as a flash and run for the hills.

I have tried looking at inspirational hairstyles on pinterest, but mostly I end up with something that resembles a birds nest, and with tired arms, and through the morning I shed a trail of hair pins whereever I go untill lunchtime when it has all escaped from whatever style I attempted and I reach for a ponytail elastic..........

roll on the cold weather is all I can say, then I can wear a hat.

note to self, find a hat I like....................

felting not stirring

2011-11-21T22:31:00.000Z

yesterday was stir up Sunday in the UK, the traditional date for making your Christmas puddings.
I made this felt one instead. do you think that counts?
probably won't taste nice with brandy butter though.............

ps. thank you for the camera recommendations, anymore gratefully received, and also welcome to all my new followers. lovely to meet you. x

camera recommendations please

2011-11-20T17:41:00.000Z

the children have now moved on from the subject of party planning now that negotiations are complete.
(boy party = a few friends after school to eat pizza and watch a dvd, probably the last Harry Potter.
girl party = 2 friends for crafting, baking, X factor final and sleepover.)

we have now progressed to list writing. birthday wishes lists............, which then prompts them to think of Christmas wishes lists.....................

which made me think I might like to write a Christmas wishes list of my own, it will only have one thing on it, but I'm thinking that a nice small digital camera that is pocket sized, or at least fits in my knitting bag sized to have at all times would be a lovely treat, only problem is what to choose, I looked at that well known internet site that sells everything and was totally baffled. too much choice, tooooo many reviews to get bogged down in, loads of information I don't understand.

much easier to ask someone.

so if you have a little camera that you just love, and would happily recommend then please do.
likewise any to avoid would be just as useful. thank you !

decorating is such hard work........

2011-11-19T21:15:00.000Z

painting is hard work. apparently.

watching someone else is so much more fun.

join the flock

2011-11-18T20:22:00.000Z

our local wool shop has been promoting join the flock

which is a public art project made of wooly pom pom sheep! you can be creative, send in your sheep to join the flock and also raise awareness of the wool industry and heritage.

we had lots of fun making these, although pom pom making does have it's side effects..............

baby hat knitting

2011-11-17T16:48:00.000Z

one of my friends has just had her first baby. a perfect excuse for a bit of knitting! but I knew I'd never finish anything as big as a blanket or as complicated as a cardigan, so hats were perfect. I started with a tomato but as the baby was born in October I thought he might need a halloween outfit,

so then there was a pumpkin,

and because these little hats are impossibly addictive I've already made him a Christmas pudding.

meanwhile both my children are quite relieved I couldn't knit when they were little......................

walking for charity.

2011-11-16T15:03:00.001Z

today I'd like to introduce to you Where'sWallace who's fundraising aid of Cancer Research UK. He's walking from John O'Groats to Lands End, stop off along the way to visit 16 of the funded research centres, a journey of approximately 1500 miles in 6 months.

who are Cancer Research UK?
a quote;
"Cancer Research UK is the world's leading charity dedicated to beating cancer through research. We carry out scientific research to help prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. We have discovered new ways to beat cancer that together have saved hundreds of thousands of lives across the world.

One in three of us will get cancer at some point in our lives. Our groundbreaking work, funded almost entirely by the general public, will ensure that millions more people survive. "

and you can help

visit his facebook page, and like it, share it, write a link to it. raise awareness.

visit his website, watch the videos about what he's learnt, see where he is, maybe you can meet up and walk along the way a bit.

so far he's travelled over 400 miles, worn through one pair of boots already and visited Glasgow, Dundee, Edinburgh, next stop Newcastle, to the Northern Institute of Cancer Research, then south to Leeds.

we gave him a bed for the night, dinner, a packed lunch, and a cooked breakfast to send him on his way, but any help is much appreciated.

visit justgiving

building a hideaway

2011-11-15T15:05:00.000Z

we are approaching the time of year when the children start thinking about birthdays. and planning parties.

this year I am very tempted to go and build one of these

and hide in it.

I might come out in January...........

raspberry lemon drizzle cake with elderflower

2011-11-14T14:35:00.000Z

when you've got raspberrys (from the garden! loving these autumn treats!)

eggs, and lemons,

and what you need is cake,

then take lessons from Nancy, who makes a delicous fruit studded cake, and from Nina who makes lemon drizzle with a twist,

and you get raspberry studded elderflower and lemon drizzle cake, which lasts approximately 17 minutes when taken to a craft evening. Thankyou for the inspiration.

Remembrance Sunday

2011-11-13T22:04:00.000Z

"They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,

we will remember them."

little mouse tutorial

2011-11-12T14:50:00.000Z

fold a semi circle of fabric in half right sides together, and sew down the straight edge. I used a machine but you could easily do it by hand, if you used small running stitches or backstitch.

turn it the right way out and stuff it with wadding, cotton wool, or even some lavender. it wants to be quite firm, and make sure you push it right to the tip - the nose.

then sew a running stitch all the way round the edge.

and pull it tight, then stitch across the hole a few times to secure it.

measure across the base of the mouse, and cut a circle of card that is about 1cm less in diameter. cut a circle of fabric slightly larger than the card circle, and then sew a running stitch around the edge. lay the card inside and pull the stitches tight.

sew to the base of the mouse, using tiny stitches just catching the fabric (not the card).

cut circle or teardrop shap ears from felt, pinch and sew them near to the nose, make some eyes with french knots, and stitch some strands of thread across the nose for whiskers. attach a tail made of a piece of wool, ribbon, or string, and your mouse is finished.

now you just need to give it a name, feed it some cheese, keep it away from the cat, frighten someone scared of mice with it, make it a friend. hope you have fun.

letters it would be satisfying to write. 1.

2011-11-11T17:26:00.000Z

Dear games teacher,

next time it is really really wet and muddy and you cannot drag your teaching practise out of the dark ages, and therefore make all the children lie face down in the mud because someone fell over during cross country, it would be really nice if you offered to take home the sports kit and wash it.

Best Wishes,
E's mum.

internet interuption

2011-11-10T13:26:00.001Z

pah. no internet.

for 3 days.
because the oh so helpful people at the help centre told me the wrong password to reboot the system. 4 times.....
oh and cost me a fortune in calls, and then I found out I could have called a free number.
I am seriously thinking of changing providers.

recommendations anyone. (UK) ?

sometimes

2011-11-09T21:56:00.002Z

sometimes you see silly things and they make you smile, and then later in the day you think of them again, and they still make you smile, so you just have to share them.

(image from Kellogsville)

bah humbug

2011-11-08T20:24:00.001Z

went to the dentist today.
have to go back next week for a filling.
feeling grumpy.

normal posting will be resumed tomorrow, when I shall be panicking about a Christmas fair I'm not ready for.

bread making

2011-11-07T22:02:00.001Z

inspired by Sue of the Quince Tree there has been some occasional bread making going on. (I adapted Sue's recipe, she uses 4 tins and I only have 3, and there was no wholemeal flour in the house...)
As I am not a regular bread maker I tend to forget about the various stages and timings, and only remember when a small person wanders by and says "I'm hungry, is it ready yet?" or as in the case of the bread above "look mummy, it's HUGE". ooops.

pretty it isn't, I haven't mastered how to make a tidy looking loaf, but it doesn't last long so I guess that means it tastes ok. now if I could just find a decent gluten free recipe.........

Sunday rituals

2011-11-06T21:21:00.000Z

it was fun to read about your beverage favourites, and Saturday morning rituals.
this is my Sunday evening ritual, getting the uniforms ready for the week ahead.

I have to say I don't enjoy it half as much.....

weekend coffee

2011-11-05T09:00:00.000Z

Our Saturday morning ritual involves a cup of frothy coffee from the scary machine that frightens the life out of me and can only be controlled by J. When I try and use it we end up with steam and coffee all over the kitchen and then I end up shouting at it, "stop stop" which doesn't help; apparently it doesn't have voice control. I don't drink coffee at any other time, the rest of the week tea wins hands down, but Saturday mornings are for coffee.

this one's for you Penny. I owe you one.

Have a lovely weekend everyone, whatever you are drinking - is it tea or coffee or something else that makes your weekends special?

mitt envy

2011-11-04T10:44:00.001Z

it's definitely feeling Novemberish here in the North. time to start piling on the layers, and thinking of walks as bracing.

only problem I have with walks is that I am so horribly unfit at the moment I end up getting hot and out of breath, and hating all of the layers. walking up the hill to the house doesn't help. so I start shedding layers, which is fine except my fingers still turn an interesting shade of blue.
solution - fingerless gloves! I have just knitted these for a friend for Christmas, the colours are perfect for her, but I really need to get going with the pair that is for me, otherwise she won't get them.........

the pattern is called mit envy, it's a free ravelry download, and as a cable novice I really enjoyed them and they were quite quick.

I think they will work just perfectly or taking part in Silverpebbles making winter series.

my pumpkin

2011-11-03T21:00:00.002Z

thank you for the pumpkin love! if you want to knit your own, the pattern is here. I really liked knitting it, and want a whole field of them, I might even pop some on folksy. never too early to get ready for next year!

in the theme of all things pumpkin I thought I'd leave you with E's poem he had to write at school. ten year old boys and poetry is not an obvious mix, but he is very pleased with this one.

my pumpkin has sharp teeth,

mine has square,

mine's got triangle eyes,

and mine will give you a scare.

my pumpkin lights up,

mine does too,

mine is spooky,

and mine is coming to haunt you.

my pumpkin is orange,

mine is round and fat,

mine's got a green stalk,

and mine looks like a witches cat.

my pumpkin was turned to soup,

mine was good to eat,

mine's turned into pumpkin pie,

pumpkins, trick or treat.

camp blanket

2011-11-02T11:12:00.000Z

E has recently moved up from cubs to scouts.
which entails an even later bedtime on a school night and a new uniform.
and an exciting county scout camp with loads of amazing activities to do.
shame it was the end of October. so as well as his sleeping bag it was decided an extra blanket would be a good idea. which solved the problem of what to do with all of the badges that came off the cub sweatshirt (oh and all of the badges that were still On the beaver sweatshirt......).
it took me HOURS. but he loved it, and it kept him warm. well warmer.....

he came back from camp with filthy stinky kit, another bump on the head, and guess what -
more badges.

a little voice as he went out of the door this morning.
"mum will you sew my new badges onto my scout uniform for tonight please"

I think I need a cup of tea first........

october hunting

2011-11-01T09:08:00.003Z

October scavenger hunting, I've managed 10 of this months 12, (much better than last months zero................)

pumpkin, a tiny knitted one, and the only one we had, I forgot to buy one, and then they were all gone. this one is supposed to have been on it's way across the pond, but it is a little delayed.
heritage, a flag.

witch hat, grafitti
something eerie, broomstick.

crunchy leaves, sunset
river, golden

I feel like my blogging and my photography need a little encouragement, so I've signed up for NaBloPoMo, in case a month of blogging everyday is what I need to find me feet again, or kill me off entirely..............

late and flowering

2011-10-12T15:13:00.004+01:00

I have picked the last of the sweet peas.
again.
each time I think, oh what a shame, these will be the last, and still they flower. ok so the plants are lying horizontal on the lawn as the canes snapped in the gales a few weeks ago, but still they flower. admittedly the stems get shorter and shorter each time, and the scent gets less and less, but I am happy to accept their shortcomings and short stems.... I just need to invest in some new tiny vases/jugs, or hunt out some pretty jam jars.

the cosmos and the dahlias are still flowering away too. long leggy, and falling all over the place, next year I need to master the art of staking. it is Very windy here, and my "stick the odd cane in and hope for the best" method hasn't been very successful.......

also in the not very successful category are the scabious - or it's pretty name the pincushion flower. Sarah Raven tells me in this article they are a miraculous performer and should be flowering by mid June. I have just checked the date, it is approaching mid October, and one or two are just thinking about flowering.

image from the BBC as obviously I can't photograph mine...........

but they are not the only ones who are late. whilst looking in my archives for a photo I realised I'd missed my 4th birthday, by several weeks. oops, I think I might need to go and do some baking. A blog birthday cake might be just the thing to cheer up the small boy who was too ill to go to school but not at all impressed about being sent back to bed.......

last days of summer

2011-10-06T14:36:00.002+01:00

last week we were gifted with some gorgeous weather, and it was a joy to be able to make the most of it, and pack up a dinnertime picnic, and even when your dinner takes far too long to cook (because you forgot one of the essential ingredients.....)

it is ok, because then you have longer to sit and enjoy the gorgeous sunset.

great british bake off

2011-09-25T20:56:00.000+01:00

my children have a new favourite tv program. and it's not a children's show. and whilst normally I would be worrying about adult content, or language, or educational value, or violence or all the other things there are to think about in a tv show, this time I am mostly concerned about my waistline....

the Great British Bake Off, it is a bad influence in this house.............

reasons to love blogging

2011-09-16T15:17:00.001+01:00

reasons to love blogging no. 1
half way through cooking dinner whilst chaos abounds in the kitchen with children doing homework, and pleading starvation, it is perfectly normal to have to stop everything, go and find the camera and take a photograph.

why?
because the oh so green beans on the pink chopping board made me smile admidst the madness, and I thought they might make you smile too.

tell me some more reasons to love blogging, and have a lovely weekend x

rainy day bunny

2011-09-05T15:21:00.000+01:00

Summer. Northumberland. Weather = variable.
occasional - blazing sun, guaranteed to turn fair English skins into lobsters in no time.
mostly - grey
often - Wet, very wet........

but that's ok. Wet days allow for a slower pace of holidaying, we don't feel we need to rush around experiencing things, there is time to play, sort out, find hidden treasures, and unfinished projects.

like the much needed repair of bunny no. 5.

bunny is Miss K's wheat bag.
he was mine when I was pregnant with Miss K and he has had many repairs.
bunnies no. 3 and and no. 4 are detailed here.
Bunny no. 5 spent too long in the microwave and got very burnt. in fact he stank. terribly. drastic measures were needed. normal bunny repairs consist of a new coat for bunny, and a transfer of ears, tales and insides. This time new insides were needed, and they were purchased (quite some time ago) but there were delays, the trauma of a total bunny refit takes a while to get used to. Bunnie's new outfit needs to be chosen and decisions about saving ears (no good, burnt smell wouldn't wash out) must be made.

Eventually though, bunny no. 6 is created. he is totally new, bunny no. 5 was used as a template and then said goodbye to..... bunny no. 6 has a lovely flannel back, and a towelling tummy, new linseed insides and a towelling tail. He is nice and floppy and soft. and smells nice.

I asked Miss K if she was ok that bunny was totally new, and there was none of old bunny left.

"yes, of course, it's fine, he has regenerated - bunny is a time lord!"

August hunting.

2011-09-03T21:32:00.003+01:00

The August scavenger hunt took me a bit by suprise, in the summer holidays I have a hard enough time working out what day of the week it is, let alone the date.
what do you mean it's September already.
how did that happen?
so I am few photos short, and several of them are a bit far fetched.... oh well.

picnic, we picniced here. really we did. I just didn't photograph the food before we ate it all. a sport. what do you mean - isn't river rafting on an old pallet an Olympic sport yet. well it should be, it's very entertaining. especially as a spectator!

a boat - a lifeboat, and a fountain.

fabric, E's quilt, something bizzare - ferret racing - it's true!

some thing ancient - fossils on the beach, and ooops more fabric, I had a mountain photo, I was really pleased with it, it vanished.........

what can I say. must try harder.

holiday highlights

2011-08-26T22:39:00.000+01:00

whilst the rest of the family hunted fossils, I hunted anemones.

we walked the beach route to Port Mulgrave

and marvelled at the blue skies

and climbed the cliff path and marvelled that we were right down there

and whilst this is what some people wanted to do on the beach

this was much more my style.....

quilt weather

2011-08-12T23:09:00.000+01:00

we're heading off for a week in a cottage on the Yorkshire coast, and just in time I've finally finished E's quilt, (last seen here, it's taken 6 months to quilt it, that's what happens when you get a request for footballs in the quilting....) anyway it's finished now, and I especially love the red binding inspired by Monica, and we shall be packing it because it's definitely quilt weather.......

sorry it's a terrible photo as the light was awful, I shall rephotograph it when we get back.
hope you all have a lovely week, whatever the weather x

beach art or bodies on the beach?

2011-08-11T21:07:00.002+01:00

one night last week J and I found ourselves watching Vera, a police tv drama. not that unusual there are a lot of such things, but this one was unusual in that it was set in the North East. Usually London, Oxford or New York are the settings for crimes, so we found ourselves entranced to see Newcastle, Tyneside and much more locally Dunstanburgh castle as the location for the discovery of bodies.....

Craster to Dunstanburgh is one of our favourite walks, so the next night after dinner we found ourselves wandering along the shoreline, chatting, collecting shells, and keeping an eye open for dead bodies just incase.

imagine our surprise when we found not just one body, but several!

and we added one for someone else to find. (the one in the dress!)

friendships

2011-08-07T13:17:00.001+01:00

walking through the gardens every now and again a little hand reached out and took hold of a bigger one.

blogging has brought me many wonderful friendships.

it is a delight to see them extend to the children too.

Mr Driftwood goes shopping part 2 and other random events

2011-08-07T09:23:00.004+01:00

Miss K is busy outgrowing all her clothes, and my hopes that she could spend the summer in a few long floaty skirts that still fit have been dashed by the excess cold and rain. Mr Driftwood sets off after work and arrives at doorway of very busy clothing shop and looks in horror at the chaos of rows upon rows of brightly coloured clothes, and hundreds (apparently!) of people. imagine a rabbit frozen by the glare of car headlights....... about to run away in horror he is rescued by helpful assistant who asks those precious words "can I help?". "I need this" producing phone and showing photograph. Miss K now has some leggings and Mr Driftwood politely points out that it is possible to get things delivered on the internet..........

it has rained a LOT this week. and not light drizzly rain. no no. BIG rain. ironically it was not raining the one day we had an indoor activity planned, a family trip to see Horrid Henry the movie. which was much loved by the children.

and we've done baking, lots of baking. special requests included butterfly buns. with only some mild confusion when someone thought you put custard in them.???? I think the rain might be getting to everyone......... I am wary of asking it to stop raining though. last time I said "ok enough stop raining now" it did. and started snowing, a Lot. I am not ready for that yet.......

Mr Driftwood goes shopping part 1.

2011-08-02T20:40:00.004+01:00

Miss K gets a money off voucher for a teddy bear shop, to celebrate her bear's first birthday(????). she looks online and chooses a small rucksac accessory for the bear to the value of the voucher. she negotiates with Mr Driftwood that he will visit the shop on the way home from work and prints him the voucher and a picture of the rucksac.

shop lady: can I help you?
Mr Driftwood: I would like this please - (shows lady the picture. )
shop lady: we don't have that one, but we do have some others. is it for a little boy or a little girl?
(Mr Driftwood thinks. Miss K is 5ft 5. you can't describe her as little............ )
Mr Driftwood: a girl.
shop lady: this one is nice for girls
Mr Driftwood: it's very small. how do you get the bear in it?

shop lady: no no, you don't put your bear in it, it's for your bear to wear.
Mr Driftwood: oh

July hunting

2011-08-01T21:02:00.004+01:00

red white & blue, some thing that makes me happy - a quilt,
flag, more flags (I don't have any flipflops..... begins with f....)

strawberries, celebration - mum's party tea

icecream (page from a new recipe book), fields - view behind the house,

stars, on an allium, stripes, on a fish,

seashell, a shiny one, and a kite - some earrings.

raindrops on roses

2011-07-27T17:08:00.005+01:00

raindrops on roses - one of my favourite things.

other strong contenders for yesterdays favourite; coffee with friends, hunting for goblins, fountains, the sheer joy in a child's eyes at the sight of a Huge chocolate milkshake, a choice of 3 gluten free cakes (I might just have alarmed friend with squeals of delight.....), a quilt to snuggle in on a chilly evening, relief that the tiny local sports shop did indeed sell individual football studs and we didn't need to drive miles searching, homegrown courgettes in a risotto (apart from when I peeled my finger instead of the courgette, but apart from that....), giggling at texts about campers trying to put up satellite dishes, kendal mint cake.

what's your favourite thing right now?

let the summer begin

2011-07-25T21:19:00.001+01:00

First week of the summer hols;
the first visitors of the summer have been and gone. a trip to the beach and our local fave National Trust estate to tire them out.
the school uniforms have gone in the wash. apart from E's trousers which have gone in the bin; too short and too many holes.....
the school timetables have come down. hurray.
the annual summer calender (made from a huge piece of wallpaper taped to the side of the fridge) has gone up.
E has happily written in the 4 days of football camp he has this week
Miss K wrote in a trip to the library and a visit to a friend for this afternoon.
tomorrow morning we have coffee with a blog friend. last time we met there was much discussion about whether she would be an axe murderer or not, hence the labelling......

she has also drawn lots of sweets on Thursday's square. I assume this is wishful thinking.

hope the first week of summer is lovely for you. xxx

a balance

2011-07-16T16:31:00.006+01:00

I turned on the computer late last night to write a post that balanced out the garden one from the previous Friday. I'd taken photographs of nettles and bindweed rampaging amongst the flower beds and the beans, and of piles of rubbish next to the shed, and of the grass that is growing through into next doors garden and probably driving them mad.
but I didn't quite get the photos uploaded, or the post written.

you see every time I turn on the computer I find more and more "social networks" to distract me.

first of course is google reader, where I catch up with all your news, then this week I joined twitter - and I can honestly say hand on heart, "I don't understand it...."

and then there is pinterest. miles and miles of inspiring things to look at, to like and repin and comment on, and giggle at the comments of others, coffee lady and Lynn have a hilarious thing going on about bicycles and muffins....
I do have a problem with pinterest though, much as I love it, oh and boy do I love it, but I get this sense of overwhelming when I spend too much time on it. so much to create, so many beautiful things I'd love to have, so many kitchens to get green with envy over, endless gorgeous hairstyles I know my hair won't create, places to go, endless things to make and eat and .........

lastly there's facebook. it's a funny thing facebook, I have friends who I see every week, friends who live across the road, relatives I've not seen for years as they live in foreign lands, friends from years gone by, blog friends, and friends of friends. whenever I log on I catch up with little snippets of news from far and wide - news of my sisters engagement (bet not everyone finds out this way....) and of new blog posts to check out, and photos of parties and holidays and all manner of things. every once in a while I'm even on at the same time as a friend and then you can "chat" as I did this week with Lynn, almost a real time conversation, the occasional "hurry up" thought, as facebook informs you that ..... is typing. so much to say. so much news to catch up on.

last night it was different though. I read one update that stopped me in my tracks. someone wrote that her husband had died suddenly only a short time after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. he was just starting his chemotherapy treatment. and was only 2 years older than me. I suddenly didn't know what to think, we didn't know him well, he was the brother in law of one of my oldest friends, but we'd seen him last summer and no one could fail to like him. I felt an urge to shut off from everything, enough, no more information, I don't want to read posts like this, I'd rather not know, and I decided to just walk away from it all, no more, I shall become a hermit, a technophobe, delete all my accounts.

but you can't hide, the information is still out there, and it doesn't go away just because you ignore it. so I realised that this is the balance, the negative that comes with the positive, the north and the south, I can't just have the pretty pictures and show off my garden, and admire cupcakes, and dream about quilts and wooden worktops. there is a real world out there too, and I can't pretend it doesn't exist. life isn't perfect, and I can't hide from that, and the support and inspiration and friendship that I get from being here is the balance I need, but it requires a certain amount of honesty, I should have photographed my nettles last week, instead of pretending that everything was perfect, and but I'm not going to show you them now - this post is long enough already.

this week

2011-07-08T18:54:00.005+01:00

this week I have mostly been - picking raspberrys, a precious few....

and strawberries - the birds ate the rest.........

loving my new long flower bed, and it's teeny tiny lavender plants

pulling up Lots of weeds from the raised veggie beds,

nurturing small seedlings in what the children have christened the "grand cascade"

delighting in the bunting that Miss K hung on the chicken run

and admiring this alium.

it took a lot of work to get the garden fit for a photo shoot, so I'm going to wish you all a very happy weekend and go and pour myself a glass of wine. we have the first quiet weekend in what seems like forever, so we're are going to enjoy it, the answer machine is getting turned on, the mobiles are getting turned off, and I have serious plans to drink tea and read a magazine!

hope you all have a lovely weekend whatever you do, I hope there is some relaxing in there somewhere. xxx

June hunting

2011-06-30T22:40:00.002+01:00

childhood memories - old books, cutlery - I love these tiny spoons
tree branches - baby crab apples, night - I've used this before but I love it.

beginning with z - zebra, wheel trim - lego
view from the door, cheese - a whole shop of it!

town name on the town crier, farm animal - harriet
elephant - in the fair trade shop, architectural detail - on a random wall.

I took most of these today with two helpers who were off school, it's much easier with helpers!

wonder vitamins and oh boy did I need them

2011-06-28T16:32:00.006+01:00

good grief I don't feel like my feet have touched the ground recently, preparing for the arts festival, the event itself, a hog roast we were co-hosting - did I forget to mention this, yes we had a street party in our garden co-hosted with our next door neighbours, and invited the whole street, plus a few extras so that in total we had 29 adults and 11 children. I was enormously thankful that the rain of the morning eased off, and that all most of the time most of the people were outside! The last people left left at 11.30pm, the clearing up went on a bit longer than that..... and then I was back at the stall at 9.45 the next day - which was bakingly hot, and I longed to walk on the beach and not be in a rather stuffy room....... oh and now we're getting ready for my mum's 80th party, this morning I have been out and bought gorgeous candle lantern stakes, and found sparklers in the garage leftover from bonfire night, and there's a long to do list....

the arts festival itself went really well, so thank you all so much for your lovely supportive comments, I met some great people, felt really part of a fantastic community event, and managed to resist spending Too much money on some of the incredible talents that were on show. I did get a few treats, and I'll photograph them later.

anyway as I mentioned last week I was sent some vitamins to trial/review from B Record Plus and whilst it is so incredibly difficult to know whether something has had an effect, as you can't tell how you would have been without it, I do think that having had some extra help this week has been incredibly useful, and although everything was extremely tiring I did still feel great for most of the time, whether the effect of the vitamins, or the placebo effect or adrenalin to get me through I can't be sure but I'd like to think they helped, and I'm still feeling full of beans so to speak so the effect seems to last longer than the 10 day dose. There's loads of scientific sounding stuff on the website, and here , which will try to convince you of it's virtues, I have to say I'm not one to be baffled by science, and whilst some of it sounded superficially good, I wasn't convinced by all the technobabble. but then I'm a cynic when it comes to science, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, so perhaps I am just being a humbug. Most likely this in fact as I get very cynical about the scientific stuff about moisturizers and makeup etc too....so in my truly unscientific opinion;

I think it probably worked, and certainly taking something and doing something proactive about your health is a great way to remind you to be healthy in other ways "shall I eat that large bar of chocolate? mmm maybe not it might counteract the posh vitamins I just took"

I've had more energy, felt less hungry and slept better.

has to be taken first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. this was surprisingly hard to me, I don't function till I've drunk a cup of tea, so for 3 days I didn't start the course of 10 treatment as I kept having a cup of tea first thing... then I put the box next to the bed, and I still forgot 3 of the day days and had tea first. perhaps I should have reviewed a memory supplement.....

you have to twist the cap and shake the powder into the liquid, no matter how much you shake it still mostly sticks to the side of the jar. I always had to add water to the empty bottle and shake it again, so as not to waste any precious magical potion. which wasn't a bad thing as the water counteracted the next point.

it tastes bad. artificially sweet, I for one would have preferred not to have the sweet taste.

will I try it again. maybe. would I recommend it. yes I guess so.

thank you B Record Plus for the sample, have to go, I've got birthday bunting to make, one or two empty wine bottles to go to the bottle bank, an extra choir rehearsal tonight, a cottage picture to alter, a heap of stuff that needs to find it's way onto folksy, and one day I soon I really need to finish E's quilt, it is beginning to haunt me.....

hope you are all enjoying the sunshine, and that's not too hot for you, it's just about right here, and I'm loving it. x

Arts Festival

2011-06-24T22:44:00.002+01:00

the stall is all set for the Alnmouth Arts Festival,

tonight was the preview evening, and I am now enjoying a much needed cup of tea.

tomorrow I am going to wear much comfier shoes......

my friend sheshe-lala brought her gorgeous bags, and we had loads of fun setting it up. you can't see the gorgeous ladder turned into amazing display unit as we've laden it with bags, but it's under there, and you'll have to take my word for it, it's great. I can tell we're going to have a fun weekend, we've already met some lovely people, and in a magical moment of blog world meets real world I met Primrose Patch who came up to introduce herself, it was lovely to meet you!

Have a lovely weekend everyone, I'm looking forward to Monday, there are hundreds of items in my google reader and I'm planning on spending a whole day with tea and cake and a laptop and catching up with you all. till then......

birthdays and bunting

2011-06-22T11:12:00.004+01:00

June is a busy birthday month, first there was J. I have a huge confession to make. in fact this accounts in part ( ok a lot) for my prolonged abscence. I am embarrassed to admit it, but honesty is important amongst friends.
I bought his cake

I am still waiting for the ground to open and swallow me up.
But in my defence I bought it from M&S, and if that's good enough for the Calendar Girls then it's good enough for me.

Next it was my birthday and I got some gorgeous gifts from kind friends and no photographic evidence... I had two cakes, both homemade, (one by an aunt who bought a gluten free mix and made it for me, I was truly delighted.) There are no photos of the cake either, but I have a few extra pounds of weight to prove they are eaten.....

Tomorrow is my mum's 80th. They have just got back from 2 weeks in Boston, I am hugely envious of their travels, and their energy. I was tired just navigating the airport carpark when I went to collect them.... She is having a party next weekend, I will try very hard to photograph That cake....

Amongst the birthdaying, I have been readying for the Arts Festival, it starts on Friday. I currently making labels, I'm not really on the laptop writing to you at all. Or at least I should be but... In fact I should be doing at least 8 things right this minute, and my head is spinning with all of them, so it is a bonus that I got sent a review parcel of some new vitamins - B record Plus, to bring me energy. I will write it up properly when I've finished the 10day course, but so far so good.

I shall be back soon with photos of the Arts Festival, tales of a wonderful display unit a friend and I made, but right now I have to dash, there is bunting everywhere, which I need to photograph, oh how I love bunting - there's something special going on, the Queen is coming to town, and I'm off to wave! xxx

lessons in romance

2011-06-03T07:49:00.002+01:00

E: what are you doing mummy?
me: I'm helping daddy make this new flower bed.
E: More flower beds! Why do we need More flower beds?
me: because daddy doesn't buys me flowers, instead he's building me a flower bed I can grow some.
E: why don't you just buy your own flowers?

oh dear, the boy has a lot to learn about romance.......

may hunting

2011-06-02T15:01:00.002+01:00

tigger, a fave cartoon friend, a butterfly,
something blue - in wool you can make the sea blue, often it's grey!
a bike - courtesy of mollie makes - oh so pretty!

interesting local building - the treehouse, a street light - useful for holding up an igloo
red door, I've used this picture before(cheating....), emergency vehicle, lego to the rescue!

zodiac sign, I couldn't find any twins, vintage wallpaper at Belsay Hall,
texture, a feather boa, black and white portrait, baby eyes.

lessons learnt from blogging

2011-05-20T21:39:00.003+01:00

Since I started blogging I have learnt a great many things from a fantastic range of places. I have learnt to crochet, been inspired to bake, joined quilt-a-longs, and photo challenges, made and met friends, planted flowers, and learnt more about a community of friendship and inspiration than I could possibly have imagined.

to the bemusement of my family and friends I photograph everything, write lists in notebooks of things to make/bake/create and have a favourites bar on the computer that is so long they can never find the links to cbbc or the premiereship table.....

I hadn't realised just how much my life had changed though until I tried to photograph a few things recently.

first there were the purple tinted meringues, the white plate they were heading to the party on just wouldn't do........

and I couldn't work out why, so I sat for a while and thought about it, and I realised it was Alice. From Alice I have learnt that there should be plates for scones, and the correct bowl for strawberries, not forgetting the biscotti plates.

the burden of responsibility is immense. I hope this pale pink plate does justice to the first egg.

and the winner is

2011-05-12T18:24:00.000+01:00

I've been shutting myself away in my study for the last few weeks, as I've rather foolishly booked a table at the Alnmouth Arts Festival. engage panic mode...... it all looks terribly professional.....

I've been making some stitchy pictures

which will be alongside the lavender bags and some cushions

I've also borrowed an embellisher from a friend

and to show off the stuff for the arts festival I've made it a new blog Northumbrian Textile Art - which one day might even have links to etsy and folksy.

thanks for all lovely comments on the last post, and now for the giveaway winner, drum roll please, and the winner is Laura of Nimble Fingers and Steady Eyebrows, a blog which has a lovely format of letters sent between friends.

"a year of posting" and 4 excuses

2011-05-03T17:02:00.002+01:00

365 posts. A year of blogging. ok so it's taken 3 years, 7 months and 4 days but I'm not counting. talking of counting I used to have a gadget that counted my visitors and comments, but it broke. I do know that my blog email account has 6233 messages in it, that's a lot of nice chat. so to say thanks for coming and chatting leave me a comment on this post and I'll send a little treat to someone at random including a mini lavender bag and maybe some chocolate if you're not all fed up of it by now.

so what are my excuses for not being around much, well we had lots of preparation to do to get ready for some new members of the family, and well here they are.
Firstly let me introduce Cornflake. She is E's.

This is Ruby. She is Miss K's.

This is Harriet, she belongs to my niece, but lives with us.

and lastly this is Myrtle. She's mine.

no eggs yet, chocolate or otherwise, but we're waiting patiently.....

late for the hunt

2011-05-01T11:41:00.002+01:00

oh dear, I'm late for the April hunt, and missing a few, but here are my finds....

sculpture - driftwood naturally sculpted by the sea, yellow buttercups

eggs, St George - last years birthday cake !

Shakespeare - for our choir, cross; plane trails making kisses in the sky

my camera, and a royal wedding breakfast....

back soon with excuses for my abscence, and a giveaway for a year of posts (365!)

spring notebook

2011-04-15T16:58:00.003+01:00

I thought it would be fun to do a spring notebook post, inspired by (stolen from?) Lynn.

drinking; tea, it's been honey and lemon all week, but I'm feeling more human today.

eating; rhubarb and orange cake - we had guests who brought rhubarb, I love guests like that.

grateful for; the children finally breaking up- it's been tough reading all your holiday posts when we weren't.

really grateful for; hot water - the boiler is mended, hurray.

making; a crochet shawl, inspired by this lovely one by Andemento, pattern here

smelling; baby versions of my lavender cushion which I filled with lavender from here.

planning; gardening time, there's one more raised bed to finish and lots of other garden fun to do.

wishing; you all a very happy weekend xxx

being creative

2011-03-30T15:04:00.002+01:00

Julia Crossland is hosting a wonderful creative challenge called being creative with a theme for each month. This months theme is garden, and this is my recipe;

I have a dream to have a long row of lavender plants just outside the kitchen window. I have lots of tiny little lavender plants growing in the greenhouse that I hope will fulfil this dream. till then I have my lavender garden cushion - take one old woolen blanket, and throw it in the wash on hot, then take some merino wool for felting and layer some on a square of blanket. cover it with dissolvable film, and stitch into it, with free motion floweryness. wash away the film, and make up into a cushion. sit back with a cup of tea and your new cushion and dream of summer.

March Scavenger hunting

2011-03-29T21:55:00.004+01:00

peeling paint; a fancy gate - well not fancy, but I love it, and found it on the beach;
empty chair - this rocking chair could also be in the old as me; lion - on the tenantry column in Alnwick - the lion is the symbol of the Percy family, if we had a symbol it would likely be a teapot.....

a lamb, also nearly as old as me, and showing it; as old as me - little ted; something green, first pea shoots; a collection, cookbooks - what else?

a shadow - always wanted to take one of these photos; a ring - bought for me over 20 years ago, worn everyday since, thanks hubby! something sentimental, lots of memories dedicated to this; a rainbow, - my fibonacci quilt.

as always I had lots of fun finding these, but please can someone tell me, who stole most of March? I think I missed it......

better late than never?

2011-03-03T13:45:00.003Z

half term round up, only a few days late......

For all lovers of children's literature, The Seven Stories in Newcastle is a must. Seven floors of bookish delights, art work, dressing up, the history of the puffin book and a rather nice cafe.

Right next to it is Ouseburn farm; polytunnels, veggie beds, pigs, rabbits, guinea pigs and chickens, right in the middle of the city.

Crossing over the pennines I can recommend Lancaster City Museum, and also the amazing gallery space of The Storey Institute and the very impressive paper art work hanging in the entrance space comes from here. The cafe is lovely too, take care though, whilst meeting a friend for the first time it is best perhaps not to disgrace yourself my choking on some rocket - Miss K has wise words about such things "salad is dangerous, eat cake"...........

back home and the garden makeover continues, my once neat veggie bad now holds a huge mountain of soil, and there is a pile of wood and paving slabs awaiting the next move. J is in charge of all heavy lifting and planning, so I have to forgive him for the paint/grey hair misdemeanor..... besides in his opinion grey hairs are to be highly prized - they haven't fallen out....

things to say when the kitchen has been painted.

2011-03-02T16:51:00.002Z

advice for partners/spouses/random strangers...

when you come home from work and make someone very happy by saying "wow, the kitchen looks great, and I don't think it needs a second coat of paint"

it is probably best not to follow later with

"you've got some paint in your hair - oh no actually I think those are grey hairs.........."

February scavenging

2011-02-28T22:21:00.002Z

news headline, truck (not that big but I loved the tag line - we can't move heaven but we can move earth)
bridge, bench (I think this is a bit unloved)

stripes, clock,
eyes, musical instrument

heart shaped, something red
post box, my shoes

thanks again to postcards from the pp

suitable Saturday night family viewing?

2011-02-16T13:44:00.002Z

It all started with an assistant in a bookshop. she recommended the series to Miss K who was wandering about clutching a birthday book voucher.

I should have known better than to say ok to a book called Angus, thongs and full frontal snogging. The snogging bit really should have warned me. Miss K was thrilled, "all my friends are reading them, they laugh out loud in lessons"

Miss K comes home, reads several of the books, pronounces them very funny.

Fast forward two weeks and Father Christmas in a fit of needing something a little extra for a stocking saw the DVD of Angus, Thongs and perfect snogging and thought Miss K will like that.

Fast forward again to last Saturday night, where DVD is selected as part of a special Saturday night, movie and tv dinner treat.

DVD is rated a 12. Miss K is now 12. E is 10. I read the box. moderate language. no signs of gratuitous violence. I ok it. (choosing suitable films might be a whole other post - it's a mine field....)

the verdict

me; I have a nearly teenager. I was quite worried about it. Now I am very worried about it.

J; he laughed a lot, especially at the bits where the parents embarrassed their daughter.

E; pronounces it gross, especially the snogging. "that film was disgusting"

Miss K; runs out into the hall a lot squirming. perhaps it's a movie to watch with your friends not your parents!

my fave quote - "if you haven't noticed I'm a woman now, I wear a bra"

next movie night I decline film choice responsibility....

skip treasure

2011-02-06T13:17:00.004Z

here it is.

my skip treasure

much to Miss K's embarrassment.
quote "you can't steal things from a skip"

I didn't steal by the way, I asked politely.

although when we went back later with the car it was very dark and I did wonder what the skip's neighbours might be thinking.....

the treasure is currently in the garage, in need of a very good clean, some heavy duty tlc and some love.

hope you have a lovely weekend, and maybe you'll find some treasure too.

splash of colour February

2011-02-06T13:08:00.003Z

run run run, I am late for splash of colour

I hope these houses are stitched down tight, it's been wild, wet and windy here..............

but these tulips are doing a great job of brightening my kitchen table xxxx

january scavenging

2011-01-31T16:24:00.002Z

the final twelve scavenger hunt photos

yarn, bubbles,
abandoned building, playground equipment (ok so this isn't really playground, but try telling that to my two..... photo from last summer - wouldn't fancy it in this weather!)

gold fish (gold and fish shape?), reflective surface
nature, something out of place

my front door (covered in cat paw prints, someone wanted to get in....) gravestone,
library (books from), stained glass.

I had fun hunting these. looking forward to February....

coming soon, some real scavenging, to Miss K's dismay I have a treasure from a skip to show you soon.......

15

2011-01-27T00:01:00.001Z

15 years.

the date is stitched on the bedding so we don't forget.
I restitched it this week, as it was looking a bit shabby.

Happy Anniversary Mr Driftwood.

january scavenger hunt - take 1

2011-01-21T19:47:00.004Z

so far my project 365 efforts have been more "take a photo on the odd random occasion" than take a photo everyday and improve your photography as a result.
so in search of something more attainable I've joined a scavenger hunt, first seen by me at postcards from the pp, and a few other places since.
these are the first of my finds....
next month I hope there is cake and chocolate and wine on the list......

a reflective surface - not a mirror

an abandoned building

something out of place

yarn

bubbles

blue shirt quilt

2011-01-16T19:42:00.002Z

anyone remember this?

well some of them were looking a little worse for wear.

and so have become this.

hopefully it will be just the thing for E who is missing his grandad terribly, as time passes it seems to be getting worse not better, he misses grandad's hugs the most he says, so perhaps this will help.....

I just need to baste and quilt it now. which might take a while as he's requested footballs all over it.
note to self "do not ask for quilting inspiration from 10 year old boys"..........

colour watching

2011-01-08T19:33:00.004Z

this months contribution for Emma's splash of colour

colour watching courtesy of the met office. I'm pretty happy with yellow, and tomorrow we're promised green!

happy new year

2010-12-31T21:33:00.001Z

wishing

you

very

happy

new

year

may it be happy, healthy, and filled with friendships xxxxx

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T18:07:00.002Z

wishing you a very happy Christmas

I hope it is truly special

filled with loved ones,

and special moments

and a truly magical day. xxxx

visiting

2010-12-18T13:21:00.002Z

we are about to set off on the pre Christmas visiting trip. parents, in-laws, siblings, siblings in-law, nephews, nieces, aunties, uncles, a cat, the nice people at the motorway services, they are all on the list.....

there was a small delay in departure as we dealt with the water that poured through the ceiling whilst Miss K was in the shower, which shorted out the boiler so the heating wouldn't come on. this has now been resolved.

back Wednesday, please please please - NO snow xxxxxx

the advent calendar

2010-12-15T00:01:00.001Z

every morning when the advent calendars are opened the children tell me what they have inside.

Miss K: "I've got a bell"

E: "I've got a flux capacitor"

me: "are you sure it's not a Christmas pudding?"

the evidence has been eaten so now we'll never know.

spiral crochet scarf tutorial

2010-12-14T17:09:00.002Z

This spiral crochet scarf is so easy I am relying on it to solve all my last minute gift dramas.

so far I have made three - purple, red and lilac. it works in any yarn, just use a crochet hook that suits. I've used lacy/ribbon yarn, cotton and oh so soft cashmere, and one of the my friends at knitting this morning was making one in Aran wool that looked amazing, and grew super fast!

make a LONG chain. you'll need about 200 - 230 chains, depending on how long you want it. remember that as it curls it will shorten a bit.

count in 3 stitches from the hook (these will form the turning chain) and treble crochet into the next chain. now do TWO treble crochets into each chain until you reach the end.

make a turning chain of 3 stitches and repeat row one, doing TWO trebles into each stitch until you reach the end.

you can do a third row if you like, repeating the same pattern as above.

or just sit and admire the spirally delights the pattern creates.
beware this is a very addictive pattern. let me know if you make one, I'd love to see. xxx

PS. this is in English crochet - an English treble (tr) is an American double (dc)

the birthday weekend

2010-12-14T16:19:00.003Z

cake 1. sponge with cream and jam filling and icing sugar dusting. requested by Miss K - now 12.

cake 2. a chocolate tray bake cake with white icing and a LOT of hundreds and thousands. joint cake for a combined trip to the pool to play on the inflatables. no photo. all eaten......

cake 3. chocolate cake with jam filling. and puffles. requested by E - now 10.
he originally wanted this cake,
there are times when I wish we didn't live 30 miles from either of these stores, but then again.......

cake 4 really needs to be the Christmas cake. but I'm just having a lie down in a dark room.

splash of colour December

2010-12-06T21:25:00.000Z

looking out of my kitchen window at the only green thing in the garden that isn't buried in snow I was inspired to create some splashes of colour to adorn it.

one muffin tin, some scraps of wool, cranberries, raisins and orange peel and a few minutes later into the freezer they went. once frozen out they went, and in a tiny moment of sun they glistened, and the birds have already started feasting.
they seemed the perfect start to Emma's splash of colour week,

as did this sky.

as you can see we still have plenty of snow, but the roads are clearer now. thank you for all your kind words on my last post, the child is fine now, a one off scare we hope.

enough

2010-11-30T20:22:00.004Z

ok, enough is enough

the snow can go now.

I was getting a bit stir crazy yesterday, when the only reason you've been outside is to sledge, shovel or trying to save your gutters from the weight of 20 inches of snow so they don't collapse, whilst looking after children (mine and my neighbours two boys- she was 25 miles away having chemotherapy...) who don't have school, you can lose your perspective on life a little.

this morning the same neighbours eldest child collapsed and was unconscious on the floor.

and the ambulance couldn't get here because of the snow.

he is ok, but my nerves are shot to bits. I can't bear to think how his mum and dad are feeling.

the benefits of snow

2010-11-28T11:53:00.003Z

I fear yesterday's post was a bit moaning myrtle like, so today I am focusing on the benefits of snow.

you can start gorgeous new crochet projects,

you can make mince pies and decorate them with LOADS of icing sugar - after all they might as well match the outside world.

the neighbours are being wonderful, we have shared shovels, cleared each others paths, checked everyone is alright, and this morning our friend with a 4x4 is braving the shops, and has taken a list of emergency rations - milk for tea, eggs for baking x

we got a digger yesterday, the children had lots of fun watching him create giant piles of snow

and that party that was cancelled - it was re-instated as an open house, everyone took something (mince pies, tiny iced buns and popcorn from us - food that looked like snow!) and we decorated the driveway with candles in the snow -sooooooooooooo pretty

and of course when it's snowy it's important to make sure you are dressed appropriately,

and lastly,

it is just so beautiful x

2010-11-27T11:38:00.004Z

craft fair - cancelled

my parents visit - cancelled

my friends 40th birthday party - cancelled

my trip to the city for lunch with a friend/John Lewis/birthday and Christmas shopping - cancelled

E's cub pack holiday - cancelled

school yesterday - cancelled

these are yesterdays photos, there's more now......................

I have eaten lots of cake to compensate, and because of all the shovelling I don't feel at all guilty about the calories, perhaps snow isn't that bad after all xxx

here we go again

2010-11-25T11:33:00.002Z

time for a corner of the garden update I think.
oh look, it's all white............

brrrrrr......................

just as well I got a useful present for mothers day!

in which we pick a winner

2010-11-24T09:34:00.003Z

thanks for all the lovely party suggestions! you all have great taste in partying! I shall compose a party post soon, but meanwhile with the help of some bits of paper and a bowl in the traditional way I pulled out a winner and it was
Felicity - congratulations. Felicity has a new baby, some online shopping will be just the perfect treat for her I hope x

in other news this week Miss K has lost 2 teeth, about time, the new teeth were getting pushed all over the place as they had nowhere to go, hopefully they can now straighten up by themselves or else I see a lot of dentist visits in the future... Miss K has clearly sussed out the tooth fairy, but is unwilling to own up this knowledge in case the monetary bonuses disappear. On both occasions at bedtime she has said very helpfully "my tooth is over there mummy".......................

the house is getting taken over by random crafty delights, E is really hoping I don't sell these at the craft fair tomorrow, as he wants them for our tree. I have promised to make more if they do. why do I say these things.....?

and there are buttony brooches galore. who knows - these could become a new style Christmas decoration too...............

and just because I need to be reminded of the positive things about rain - another of yesterdays rainbows. I got soaked three times yesterday, really really soaked. and guess what I have to go out again now. and it's absolutely heaving it down...................................

a party giveaway with a difference.

2010-11-15T16:41:00.005Z

I missed my blogs birthday again..... and so in an attempt to make up I'm having a "party", and the party bag for one lucky visitor will be a £25 gift voucher for csn stores UK.

Eileen from CSN stores contacted me and offered a giveaway. These are her words describing the company. "CSN Stores has amazing online stores where you can find everything from beautiful bedroom furniture to cookware to chic lighting pieces"

I picked out these things for a chic tea party

but of course you can choose whatever you like.

available from CSNstores.co.uk

a few rules.

leave me a comment telling me what your "must have" party food/decoration is.

for an extra entry mention this giveaway on your blog, and then leave me another comment telling me you've done it.

for another extra entry become a follower and leave me a comment telling me (or mention if you already follow and I'll give you an extra entry.)

UK residents only please

please make sure I can find your email address, or that you have a public profile so I can contact you.

I did not recieve any compensation for this post, I simply chose to pass the offer on. The winners email will be forwarded to CSN stores who will send you the gift voucher.

giveway will close on Wednesday 24th Nov 2010, 9am GMT.

the 11th day of the 11th month

2010-11-11T09:19:00.001Z

we will remember

happy

2010-11-10T12:36:00.002Z

things that are making me happy today.

orchids flowering
blue skies - and I mean really blue.
sunshine!
crisp piles of fallen leaves calling out to be jumped in.
a cup of tea with a friend.

sorting through photographs from the weekend, and remembering the shreaks of joy at the sparklers.
sparklers - love them!
a bag of apples waiting to be peeled and made into crumble.
blue skies.

our new biscuit tin which just had to come home with me. I expect my little helpers will empty it for me...
blue skies - did I mention that already.

what's making you happy today?

Silverpebbles splash of colour - post 1

2010-11-04T16:06:00.004Z

feeling a little lacking in colour?

the prospect of winter making you feel blue?

Emma has the solution. a winter splash of colour.

so here is my first contribution. these flowers were a treat for me from J, they smell amazing, and the sight of them makes me so content. the lillies are up very high , so the cats don't get pollen on them, and I keep pinching out the stamens. must do this one....

and I couldn't do justice to the incredible colour of this rose, if there's more light tomorrow I'll try again.

and a bit of bright buttony goodness, I've been having lots of fun with these x

but if the gloomy damp weather is really driving you mad you could always take some advice from Freddie

"find something colourful and then sleep on it"

brooch decisions - advice needed.

2010-10-25T17:00:00.000+01:00

I need a bit of help today. I've been asked to have a stall at a fundraising evening. and I'm panicking about having things to sell. I decided it would be a good idea to have some small inexpensive things and set about making some brooches. or in truth I set about making some tangled messes, and then some brooches. the ones above need adorning with something.

these ones have a button.

and these ones which are works in progress as well can't decide whether they'd like buttons or beads, or sparkly glass marbles (glued on probably - if it works???)

what do you think? do you think people will buy them? how much do you think I should charge? which ones do you like best? which adornments are the best do you think?

sorry for being so demanding, help yourself to a cookie in return. they really are very good. Monica has the recipe. but a word of warning. they don't last long................... xxx

don't look now

2010-10-25T16:01:00.002+01:00

need a change from grey autumn colour?
how about gorgeous spring like colours and a zingy floral pattern. I won this kit in a giveaway from Kellie at Don't look now, she has a wonderful colourful blog, and an amazing shop full of sewing goodness.

I got a whole kit with all the goodies to make a gorgeous cushion,

and two more fantastic patterns.
I'm going to be busy, and even though I'm frantically making gifts and things for a sale, these are going to be for me xxx

thank you again Kellie. you are so generous. xxx

finished!

2010-10-18T13:56:00.001+01:00

finally finished xxxx I think I am loving the back more than I ever have done in a quilt. the way the thread changes from the blue to the red is a delight.

the design of the quilting was a serious challenge, free motion poppies, daisies and meadow grasses all over, soooo many ends to bury......

but so worth it. I love it. I may never be able to go back to just stippling.

now it just needs a name.
all ideas gratefully recieved.

it's getting a lot of use already, the first winter cold of the year has found a victim.....

harvest

2010-10-08T22:22:00.003+01:00

I planted a crab apple tree when we moved in.

it's the tiniest of trees, more of a stick with leaves....

but look - a harvest! ok so I had to beg some extras from my mum's neighbour to have enough to make a few jars of jelly, but I'm sure it's my trees contribution that makes it so tasty xoxo