Sunny days and crafty ways

What's that? I hear you say.  Two posts in the space of a few days, it must be the school holidays!  Indeed it is and I'm already thinking that they are speeding through much too quickly. 

The new quilt is nearing completion, and I am loving these binding clips that were free in my quilting magazine a couple of months ago, far easier than pins and less likely to be lost on the floor and end up in a dog's paw!  There was a moment this afternoon where I was sitting in the garden, new quilt on my lap, hand sewing the binding, dog snoring gently beside me on the settee, sun shining down, bees buzzing in the daffodils, a couple of geese flew overheard calling to each other and I thought 'why on earth don't I spend all days doing this?'  Well, basically the good old British weather doesn't always co-operate, and going to work gets in the way.  I can tell you though, if I could have bottled that moment to open up and experience again and again, I would have!

A couple of days ago I saw that my nephew's wife had 'liked' a Facebook page for a local shop which I had never heard of before. Sew Contemporary.  It sounded like my kind of shop!  So this morning I set out on a mission to find it.  It was at an end of town I don't normally venture into, but now I've found it I can tell you that I will be returning.  There's fabrics and threads, wools and zips, patterns and gadgets.  I spoke to the owner as I went around looking longingly and stroking the fabrics and she is planning to start doing workshops either to learn a specific item or practice something that you haven't tried before.  There may even be a quilting class.  Oh my. 

Of course I was tempted to buy something there and then and I saw the pattern that Abi has just made but I thought I would ease myself back into dressmaking with something simple and something that I had actually been thinking about buying.  I thought I would make a shell top for work.  Our old building can get mighty warm in the summer and it's hard to find something that is cool to wear yet smart enough for an office environment.  T Shirts are not allowed!  Sadly there were no patterns of that type there but the owner told me about a good website where you could download free patterns and she happened to know that there was a nice shell top pattern there.  Can you guess what I did as soon as I got home?  Here's a clue ...

 

I nearly fell at the first hurdle though, it's an American website and obviously American sizes are VERY different to English ones!  It's going to seem weird making something in a size 6! 

Am I enjoying my Easter break so far?  I don't think I need to tell you the answer to that do I?



Me on Easter Monday

After an Easter Sunday of eating more than enough chocolate, Me on Monday sees me buring off a few calories and test driving the new lawn mower ...

The left hand side of the garden looked like it was covered in confetti, and I assumed that it was all blossom from the cherry tree

But when I looked closer, I could see that it was in fact tiny little white flowering plants which were so pretty it seemed a shame to mow over them! 

Wasn't it a lovely long Easter weekend?  I seem to have spent most of the last 4 days eating.  Hot cross buns on Friday, out for dinner at Carluccio's with friends on Saturday, Roast lamb with all the trimmings on Sunday and vast quantities of Easter egg chocolate today.  It was great to have all the family over for Sunday lunch,

As you can see, even Jon came home!  And this week's selfie only took one try to get everyone in the shot and looking the right way, unlike the first one we took last week!

 

Just a quick Me on Monday this week, but in a day or two I could be back with a progress report on the latest sewing project.  The school Easter holidays have begun - two weeks off work.  I predict a lot of sewing will be going on.  Well, a girl has to make the most of some paid spare time doesn't she?

 

Let's give a big post Easter wave to Sian who's sporting a rather smart pair of hand knitted socks this week.  If we ask nicely, I think she might offer to make us all a pair too!

Me on Monday - 30 March

There is an old proverb which goes along the lines of 'you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs' - in other words, in order to achieve something it's inevitable that something gets destroyed.  So let's call the tidying and reorganising of the study my weekend omelette and the chaos and clutter that has been made by decluttering is definitely my broken eggs. 'Let's get rid of that old bookcase' says my husband, 'let's get something lower and more streamlined, it will make the room look bigger and anyway (wait for it) that bookcase is only full of your old things we never look at.'  Ahem.  That bookcase is/was full of a lot of my things with one whole shelf dedicated to scrapbooking albums, books that I have read but don't want to get rid of, the kids' school record files and assorted maps and tourist guides of places we have been.  The shelf that he claims responsibility for is full of files of paperwork, bank details and that like.  So of course everything had to be removed from the shelves and that means that the floors of the study and the landing outside it are now covered in piles of 'rubbish', 'recycling', 'charity shop' and 'to go in the new storage unit' (yet to be bought, so that could be there a while!)  What a load of random things we've found tucked away in between all the books and albums.  Most of which, I do have to begrudgingly agree, is rubbish - and a lifetime's supply of jiffy bags that are obviously too good to throw away and can be reused.  Seriously, if you ever see me in the newsagents buying a new padded envelope, drag me away and give me a good talking to.  I've found a new place for the albums, been ruthless about the books, and found a new home for school days mementoes.  Files of paperwork have been rehomed in an existing cupboard and it's been a good project - apart from the mess that it has caused!

It's been the first weekend of it being just the two of us, with Rachel moved into her new home.  It's been a weekend of tidying and clearing and following the arrival of a quote for a new kitchen, a weekend of planning and choosing and decisions.  Brochure browsing (so many brochures!), perusing Pinterest, and sourcing sinks.  Worktop wondering, colour choosing and trying not to think about how much it will cost! 

 So here we are at Monday again,

 Popping into Waitrose on the way home from work

And ...

Realising I hadn't changed the clock in my car when we went to British summertime yesterday

 This time I managed to remember how do it without going back to the car dealership for help! The year before that I drove around for 6 months with the wrong time showing as I couldn't work out how to change it and it seemed easier to just spend 6 months waiting for it to change back again! 

Me on Monday as suggested by Sian

Me on Monday - 23 March

Oh hello! Thanks for popping by and seeing what Me on Monday looks like this week.  It's a bit like this 

Trying to get my layout sorted for my quilt.  I've just ordered my backing fabric and binding.  Now I shall be stalking the postman!  I'm itching to get it put together as my weekend held quite a bit of sewing

Also a bit of paper folding. I had seen a great idea on Julie's blog for origami bookmarks and although I do own some 'proper' bookmarks, I can never find one when I need it so I immediately made one to put in the latest book that I'm reading.  I find myself using old receipts, scraps of envelopes, tissues and anything else that is flat (I do draw the line at food items though - unlike some people!) Then I thought how they would be useful for marking pages in cookery books so you can easily find your recipe without going through the index. Especially in recipe books that are so old and well thumbed that the index pages are no longer actually attached to the book!  These are going to be so useful!

We started the weekend on Friday, with a lovely Indian meal out at a local restaurant with the lovely Denise and 'himself'. Good food, good company, a great start to a couple of days off.  Rumour has it that our son was on ITV News at Six. He's working in an office which is near the ITV studios and they were talking to people out in the street about the eclipse.  Unfortunately we didn't know he'd had a few minutes of national fame, and missed it, but his poor Grandma nearly fell off her chair when she suddently saw her grandson on the television! 

Sunday involved dog walks and selfie fails

It took a few goes to get us all in the picture and one of us not checking out trees for squirrels and pigeons (Coco's arch enemies. Her mission is to scare every single one out of our local area. It's not working).

The last weekend of Rachel living at home so she cooked for us Saturday night and we had a few of her favourites for Sunday lunch. Needless to say she has left packing up clothes and toiletries until the last possible minute so there was a fair bit of suitcase and box packing going on.  Then in a moment of madness she suggested that I might like to learn how to put highlights in her hair.  We've often joked about how annoying it must be for her to know how to do it for other people but then having to pay for someone else to do it to her hair.  I was a very willing student but after the initial enthusiasm of 'you can easily learn how to do this Mum', she seemed a little nervous to actually be sitting in the kitchen with a gown round her shoulders, a pile of foils by her side and me with a brush full of bleach in my hands.  At this point I would like to say that I have watched the hairdresser do this many a time and thought it looked quite straightforward ... however ... it's not as easy as it looks!  There's combs in one hand, foils in another, switch the comb for the bleach brush, keep the hair tight, don't get it near the scalp, keep a clean line, fold the foil nicely.  I was mighty nervous but she seemed quite confident in my ability and that confidence rubbed off.   After a nerve wracking 20 mins I sent my client up to the bathroom to wash her hair and reveal the results.  Fortunately, it looked good!  Then she said 'how do you fancy cutting it too?' Oh yes!  I was fired up.  It was a bit like when you're little and you give your Barbie doll a new look, but with 'Barbie' giving instructions, and comments like 'oh my goodness, I can't believe I'm actually letting you do this'.  I probably took about 2" off all round and she did genuinely seem very happy.  Don't think I'm quite ready to give up the day job yet though!

And that's it for another week. Giving a Monday wave to Sian! 

Me on Monday - 16 March

 Well that was a weekend and a half! A weekend that reminds me how incredibly blessed I am. A weekend where I was made to feel so special and so loved.  A weekend that took me by surprise. A birthday weekend. Obviously that wasn't the surprise, I have had 57 years to get used to the fact that 14 March is my birthday, but I thought I had a quiet evening in with a nice Thai take away planned. Maybe a glass of prosecco to toast the occasion. I thought it would be just me, Paul and Rachel, oh and Coco. Wrong on all counts! 

I was banned from the kitchen, in hindsight I realise now it was so I didn't see the contents of the fridge! Because in the afternoon, Jon turned up unexpectedly and then they announced that Rachel and Jon were cooking a special birthday meal and their partners were coming too.  The menu was all my favourite things: goats cheese and caramelised onion tart followed by slow roast honey glazed lamb, celeriac, potato and smoked cheese mash, with glazed carrots. A brief rest before carrying on with lemon meringue pie and then chocolate birthday cake. 

While they were causing chaos in my kitchen cooking up a storm, I was instructed to put my feet up and enjoy a mojito 

Which distracted me from the fact that Rachel was decorating the dining room 

Birthday banner. Check. Paper chains. Check. Personalised placemats. Check. Part bags of sweets. Check. Birthday balloon. Check.

While Jon was carving the meat 

To make this 

I was totally surprised by it all, so much thought had gone into it all. I am so grateful.

Of course, the following day was Mothers Day, so they were in charge of mealtimes again and I can honestly say that I have never been so pampered over a whole weekend.

So today's Me on Monday sees me doing this 

Dismantling paper chains and tissue paper pom poms.

And drinking tea from my Mother's Day present from Rachel

I do love an Emma Bridgewater mug.  I never knew you could get them personalised!  So that's it.  All over for another year!  Let's give a quick wave to Sian who had the idea for Me on Monday.  There's been birthday celebrations in her family too.

Me on Monday - 9 March

After a weekend when it really felt like Spring had sprung, this is Me on Monday ...

Getting used to my new glasses.  I've reached that stage where I need to wear them all the time now so I decided to treat myself to some new frames.

 

It was a real mix of a weekend. Bulk cooking to fill mother in law's freezer, visits to the accountant and realising his office is right in the heart of 'The only way is Essex' land (seriously, day trips to Brentwood and organised tours of Amy Childs' salon, Gemma Collins' boutique and all the nightspots they feature on TV) trying a new recipe on Saturday night and discovering a new spice mix on the way, Ras en Hanout anyone?  If you like Moroccan flavours you have to give it a try.  Long dog walks in the sunshine, and even mowing the lawn for the first time this year.

Can I sneak in a little something that happened on Friday as an 'almost the weekend' event? I received my last postcard from Sian's postcard exchange

All the way from Beverly in the US. Isn't it lovely?  My collection is complete! 

Back to the weekend proper -

Sunday was mostly spent at a quilting exhibition at Duxford, near Cambridge.  I think I read somewhere in the terms and conditions of entry that it was compulsory to buy something before you were allowed home; my story and I'm sticking to it. I now have a batch of new fabrics to play with 

I have never seen so many fabrics in one place. Duxford is an Imperial War Museum dedicated to aircraft and the exhibition was held in an aircraft hangar.  Oh, the choice. It would have been very easy to spend serious amounts of money, I was very restrained!  I also bought a kit to make a textured paper pieced picture (wish me luck!)it all seemed quite straightforward while the lady who designed them explained it to us but now I've got it home ... oh well, I will keep you informed!  Maybe the new glasses will make everything clearer ;-)

Giving a big wave to Sian who arranged the Me on Monday meme.  I'd love to see what you're up to today too - why not join in?

Me on Monday - 2 March

Mmmmm birthday cake ...

oops, caught in the act ...

We had an early birthday celebration weekend over here for my son and just because you get to be 25 doesn't mean you're too old for your mum to cook you a birthday cake.  Covered in your favourite sweet things, Cadbury finger biscuits, fudge squares, M&Ms and Galaxy counters. It was lovely to see him, he had to come home in advance of the big day as he's off to Paris for a few days with his girlfriend for his actual birthday and one of his presents was Euros for spending in France.  I hope he spends them wisely, if he dares to come back with a beret, a stripey t shirt and a string of onions ...

So after a stressful morning at work, I think I deserve a bit of chocoholic sustenance. Oh yes, it's the day that primary school children hear which secondary school they've been allocated.  I had over 120 letters ready to be posted out to unsuccessful applicants.  I think my phone's going to be ringing off the hook tomorrow.  Must remember to take cake energy food into work for elevenses.

The weekend was busy, there was lots of cooking to be done to make sure that the birthday boy got some of his favourite foods for dinner, presents to wrap, kitchen brochures to be scrutinised, rugby to be watched (bad result), football cup finals to be watched (even worse result),dogs to be walked, then dogs to be bathed. 

Well, that's the first March Me on Monday - let's give a wave to Sian.  She's telling tales of astronauts, expanding gardens and librarian tendancies!