Blogtoberfest day 7

The good thing about having a Wednesday off when you work part time is that you are never more than 2 days away from a day at home! Some Wednesdays are used productively, some are wasted doing boring old houseworky stuff, and some are full of fun and friends.
Yesterday was one of the latter. I ask you, what better way to spend a day off than to spend a lovely lunchtime eating scrummy food with two good friends? And if the restaurant you go to happens to be just across the road from a crafty shop packed to the rafters with all kinds of scrapbooking gorgeousness - well, the icing is on the proverbial cake!
And so what if I spent more in the craft shop than I did on my lunch?!
Having spent Saturday learning oodles of ways to make flowers, I realised a distinct gap in my scrapbook supplies. I clearly needed a flower shapped cutter. How had I managed all this time without one? Karen had shown us how to make carnation type flowers out of 8 pieces of pages from old books, inked around the edges and I loved them, but couldn't make them due to lack of cutter. Cutter bought: problem solved!

What a hoot!

So here's what I made with some of the leftover wool from the blanket. I first saw it on Rachel B's blog and fell in love with it. The pattern comes from Ravelry and was fun to make.

It makes me think about a rhyme that my dad taught me when I was growing up:

A wise old owl sat in an oak
The more he saw, the less he spoke
The less he spoke, the more he heard
Why can't we be more like that old bird?

Warm and Toastie

A few weeks ago I blogged about our Textiles teacher trying to entice me into showing some of the students at our school how to knit when she saw me working on the blanket for my great-niece. I've tried to avoid her ever since and I think I may have got away with it!
Anyway, the blanket is now finished so I thought it only fair to show it to you. When I saw the colours my niece had chosen, I wasn't totally convinced how it would look as a blanket but now it is finished I think she chose well and having one row of chunky wool randomly through the blanket gives it a wavy texture. I just have a few ends to finish off and then I shall be handing it over. I'm keeping back a few balls of wool to knit a little owl that I saw on Rachel's blog.
I've enjoyed getting my knitting needles out of retirement and need to find some more projects to keep me occupied .... any ideas?

Pretty as a picture

I spent Sunday morning finishing off the project we made at the Eclectic Keepsakes crop on Saturday. I call it a project as it is so much more than a layout or photo frame. Check out all the different ways of making flowers from various kinds of papers that Karen taught us.
This project was so pink and girly and perfect for a photo of a certain little great-niece of mine who is just so gorgeous! I think I will be giving it to her mummy as a little present. There is no way I would ever have come up with such a lovely layout so this is yet another prime example why I need to attend as many crops as possible to learn lots of new things.

Men of a certain age

When I looked at these pictures that were taken at our anniversary party, it struck me how my husband and Denise's husband were wearing very similar polo shirts, it's obviously a fashion statement for me of a certain age ;-)
Then I noticed how Denise and I were both wearing a similar shade of purple and it reminded me of a poem I had read about ladies growing older. Now before I quote this poem, I have to point out that neither Denise or I are anywhere near the age that is referred to in the poem it's just the colour that prompted the connection. However, I do like the thought of acting inappropriately and getting away with it!

When I am an Old Woman I shall wear purple

by Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat that doesn't go and doesn't suit me

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

and satin candles and say we have no money for butter

I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired

and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

and run my stick along public railings

and make up for the sobriety of my youth

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

and pick the flowers in other people's gardens

and learn to spit

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

and eat three pounds of sausages at a go

or only bread and pickles for a week

and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

and pay our rent and not swear in the street

and set a good example for the children

We must have friends for dinner and read the papers

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple

Ahoy there me hearties

I would have loved to have used my blog post today to show you the amazing project we made at the crop today but it's not quite finished and it is only fair to show it in all its glory. Suffice it to say that it is unlike anything I have made before and I have learnt so many different ways to make flowers today, my origami skills have been honed no end!
The format for the crop day is to do your own thing for the morning and then have a class after lunch so I am posting one of the layouts I did this morning. My daughter went to a fancy dress party that had a theme of 'Pirates' and this is her in her outfit. Not her normal style of dress! I wish I had a photo of her friend who had gone as a parrot and had made her costume out of several coloured feather boas. Such fun! Apparently the hostess of the party is still finding stray feathers everywhere!

Blogtoberfest

I saw the Blogtoberfest logo on a few blogs, had a little look and next thing I knew I'd signed up for it! But to be honest, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing other than blogging daily so until anyone tells me differently, that's what I will do.
I often joke that working at our school is like being a swan. Calm, serene and in control on the surface, but desperately paddling to keep afloat underneath. That's exactly how I feel today.
I seem to have acquired a fair few extra jobs this term, and I had my hands full already. I need to learn to say 'no', but it doesn't come naturally to me. Someone only has to look helpless or frazzled and my immediate reaction is 'Can I do anything to help?' But today I feel like enough is enough. Today I feel shattered. Feel like I've really earned my weekend.
Feel like I could do with at least one whole day scrapbooking and relaxing and chatting with other crafty ladies. Which is lucky really, as it's the monthly Eclectic Keepsakes crop tomorrow and the lovely Karen has posted a beautiful sneak peek of what we will be doing.
Only 1 more sleep .......!