sun printing

we had got G some sun print paper for christmas, but had been saving it for better weather, so we kicked of the holidays by making a few pictures in the garden, we all had a go & the children enjoyed deciding what they wanted to use to make their print, i think they turned out great for our first attempt & i'll be more organised next time, i think these would make great presents for the children to make as gifts themselves {i could just pop the finished print into a frame for giving}

i've just done a quick search & the place i got the paper from no longer sells it! there is some on amazon but they are out of stock too! sure if you looked a little harder you could find some somewhere!

the blue singer

both my kids often come home with lots artwork, a lot get's quietly moved into the recycling, we have a kind of rota on the kitchen walls & cupboards, where bits get swapped every now & then before getting filed away to be kept forever hidden in a drawer, then once in a while one piece comes home that needs a more permanent home, like this picture of a singer sewing machine G brought home last term, i fell in LOVE with this picture & am so pleased it's finally framed & up on the wall {he's ever so proud too!}

& thank you for the sweet get well messages - i'm finally feeling more like myself & have spent lot's of time out in the sunshine today, dreaming & planning about what i want to get growing in the garden this year

day 28

thank you so much to the Aldersons for the fab kids christmas presents,  i did let them colour in a few pages, {even though i was very tempted to keep them for myself!}

passing me by

the days are flying by at a crazy rate right now, i have far too many plans & ideas in my head, without the time to bring them all to life, i'm so looking forward to the end of term, in the hope that things slow down a little, the school holidays are something i always look forward too {maybe because it means i stop work too}big G & i always seem to find the last few weeks of term more of a struggle than normal, there is always alot on

i'm busy working away to get things made for the stall at the schools summer fair, i've enjoyed reading all the imaginative suggestions on what you think i might be making in the last post! you'll have to keep guessing, as they are one of the many unfinished projects in my 'to finish' box

we've also made time for swinging at the park & monster making, as one does!

will be back when i can

the easter bunny

well i just couldn't resist making up a little easter bunny, i really should have made another one, as i'm sure the two little one's will argue over who gets this one, but i'm kind of hoping that the chocolate this little bunny brings with her will distract them enough!

pattern details are here, i even made a few carrots for the bunny using this sweet little tutorial, i have a few more cut out & sewn, waiting to be stuffed & finished off, as i thought they'd be rather cute for the children to have for their play kitchen! as little O shares her cot with three bunnies already (she's rather fond of them) & they often get invited along for a tea party,

i also treated myself to an easter present, some lovely fabric from the quilt room

this gorgeous reproduction 30's fabric colour wheel, which is 20, 10'' squares of absolute sweetness! & far better for me than chocolate!

i plan on using this to make a simple nine patch quilt, with some white fabric, just to make those lovely prints really stand out, 

*wishing you all a happy & relaxing Easter - just don't eat too much chocolate!*

tea for two

i have to say how much happier i've been feeling, & just from a few days of sunshine, i can cope with the cold, but the endless rain was so depressing, 

i have also been making, which always puts me in good mood, sometimes when an idea strikes you, you have no choice but to just do it, over the weekend we sorted out little O's bedroom (as she had been previously sharing it with a ton of other stuff) having made more room, we were able to set up her little table & chairs, i had a sudden urge to make some place mats for her, now i'm most certain that this is not an original idea, & i'm sure i've seen many similar out there, i just couldn't think of where,

so i just made it up as i went along, using some fabric scraps for the cutlery, 

some white fabric i had left from the wonderland quilt, i even zigzag stitched together some odd scraps of wadding to go inside them,

then used an old shirt for the backing, 

i love quick little projects like this, & i think they have gone down very well with little O, no time was wasted setting up for a little tea party, to which big dog & little Ted were invited,

i'll be back soon to share another little knitting project i've started! but right now i'm late for a very important little tea party!

a little smug

well i did find my recipe, having spent a lot of time going through all the recipes i cut out from magazines, or get from waitrose (it was from a favourite cook book of mine - how did i forget that, my memory really is not what it used to be)

but i have been crafting, i finished a rows worth of middle circles for my granny blanket, so now i just need to do the final round & join as i go, i started another commissioned sewing project i've been asked to do, another little named bag, which i hoping to get finished today, 

G & i had fun with the Hama beads, & i'm looking forward to making some more with them (having just found out they do glow in the dark & glitter beads)

i've also been keeping up with my one pattern repeat on my lace scarf & i fitted in a little knitting on the socks, i also cooked the kids some homemade mackerel fish-cakes for their tea & they both gobbled them up - hooray, so i felt rather smug yesterday - lets see if today turns out quite so well!

busy doing nothing

well not really nothing, but nothing much really, both the little ones are getting over colds & so we've generally been pottering along, getting January out the way & moving into February, i feel i've been a little fuzzy lately, for example, today i have a very strong feeling that i've forgotten to be somewhere, or do something, most strange, & i've also very frustratingly misplaced the recipe i was planning to cook for tonight's dinner (a rather delicious looking goats cheese & spinach tart) no doubt i'll have to turn the kitchen upside to look for it this afternoon, 

anyways, enough of my mutterings, i cast on for the adventures in lace KAL, which Kate has organised, & very pleased i am so far, i'm going to try & knit a pattern repeat a day (have yet to start today's though!)

I'm knitting the lace leaf shawl, in the lovely Alpaca yarn i brought way back here, the socks are also coming along nicely, although having had a change of heart, they will now be for the mister (the next ones will have to be for me) it was just lucky enough i hadn't knit too far, so i could make them a little bigger

during my other potterings, i made a trip to my nearest hobbycraft, to stock up on crafty bits for the littlies (oh how i miss woolworths), aside from the usual card & paper supplies, we came home with some of these Hama beads!

mostly because i was rather keen to give these a go myself, will let you know how i (oops i mean G) gets on!

& as a little weekend treat, we found time for one of these

there is always time for a cream tea in my book, 

right, i'm off now to search for this blinking recipe!