What a fab weekend.....

Saturday afternoon was a footy afternoon for the guys so it was a girly afternoon for us :-) Twiglet and her daughter joined me, my two daughters and my 2 gorgeous little granddaughters for the afternoon. The house was filled with pop-up tents and a ball pool and picture books and toys and a wonderful time was had by all. Days should be filled by special times like that.

Sunday was a quality time together for my darling hubby and me. We escaped early hoping we could be spared from any emergencies this week. We called in at Dolittles pet's store on the Bridgenorth to Wolverhampton road. We were looking for bird food but I was surprised by my eldest Nephew who has been working there for a while. It was really lovely to see him looking so well and happy and to have a quick catch up with family news. On the same site is a garden centre and some really lovely little units with crafts of all sorts in so of course we had to have a browse round before setting off for our next goal. We needed a new carousel for one of the corner kitchen units so called in to Ikea to pick one up. Of course we can't go there without a quick walk round and a few new, unplanned purchases :-)
We called in to a lovely garden centre for a Sunday lunch and managed to get home without there being any emergencies on the home front.

Monday was a day of getting things done at home. Hubby painted the windows at the back of the house.....

..... while I cleared all the dumped stash out of the fireplace arch in my sewing room.....what a lot of stuff can be stored in such a small space!

He then fitted my new Ikea hangy thingy and I gave a quick lick of fresh paint to the area before sorting and replacing all my stash tidily.





My son called home needing a pair of jeans shortening so I made him a bargain.....if I shorten his jeans he can pick the plums for me :-) [I knew there was a reason for having such a tall son].

I then set to and made 5 jars of plum jam...yum yum. There is such a glut of wonderful fruit and veg at the mo and I can't bear to see it going to waste...it will be tomato chutney next when I can get some more jars :-)





I then took a walk down the garden to see what else was available and have to admit we have a failure.

This is what our calabrese look like! It appears the cabbage white butterflies have got there first. There isn't a leaf that hasn't been eaten! Some you win, some you loose eh?






I finished off my day crocheting some brooches so today I will be finishing these off with buttons and brooch backs. Not sure what I think of these buttons yet though.





Thanks for taking time out to read my news. Hope you all had a great weekend too.

What sort of crafter are you?...

I think I am a bit of a butterfly. I flit from one craft to another and although I like to master each craft I try I do tend to move on to another one fairly quickly. My list includes [but I'm sure there are many more!]...

1. Bobbin lace making...I did this when my two girls were babies [No idea how I found the time]
2. Glass painting...mostly for cards
3. Stamping...Have read the book and got the T shirt but not something I am hooked on really so thinking of selling off a lot of my stamps if anyone is interested.
4. Knitting.....always have some on the go for relaxation
5. Crochet...used to crochet for a shop when I was nursing many years ago
6. Decoupage....very pretty when done but doesn't grow fast enough for me
7. Machine embroidery...use this lots when I'm card making
8. Cross stitch...used to do loads especially when my children were little and at 10 our eldest daughter was commissioned to do some to go to America [It featured in a x stitch mag too].
9. Hand embroidery...have lots of pics I've made over the years [some still not been framed!].
10. Quilling....enjoyed fiddling with this but never really did a lot with it.
11. Applique...Love the effects of this on all sorts and often find a use for this craft.
12. Puppet making....I design and make lots of different ones.
13. Patchwork....too time consuming for doing a lot
14. Macrame...I'm sure we all had a go at this
    
15. Dumfing...hand and machine...this is my latest new craft and although I've had a little break from it lately cos things have been so hectic here I love it and will find new and interesting uses for this craft.
    
16. Oh and of course sewing, tailoring and all sorts of alterations.....but of course that's the job I do every day :-)

When I stop to think of it the list is pretty endless and I have spent so very many happy hours crafting in all sorts of mediums. I'm sure many of you are like me and get lots of pleasure from their crafts but how about writing your list so we can all see what crafts you've tried?

Cherry on the top award....

This lovely award was given to me by the lovely Keryn. Keryn makes some really lovely cards and her other half paints the most gorgeous paintings so please pop over for a browse through her blog. Thanks Keryn for thinking of me and sending me this award.
There are 5 rules for accepting this award :

1. Thank the person who forwarded the award to you. [done]
   
2. Display the award on your blog [done]
   
3. List 3 things about yourself
4. Post a picture you love
5. Tag 5 people who you'd like to forward this onto

So 3 things about me...

1. I met my other half on a blind date and married him 8 1/2 months later
   
2. I have made well over 2000 little bears and they can now be found all over the world
3. I can say the alphabet backwards

One of my favourite photos...


This is the first photo of my first little Granddaughter P. She looks so laid back in this scan photo with her knees bent and it looks like she has her hands behind her head too. She is still a happy, laid back little girl but is full of fun and is as bright as a button :-)




Now I'm supposed to tag 5 other bloggers...

1. Has to be Twiglet...she certainly is my cherry on the top.
2. Julia...without her encouragement the blog shop wouldn't exist.
3. MarmaladeRose...she started a group of crafters doing 20 minutes of crafting every day.
4. Michelle Palmer....her fabulous designs are so very inspiring
5. Needlewings...I've just found her blog but I will be going back :-)
   

A flying Elephant.....

I am so excited for my little feltie elephant. Lulu is flying off to Australia! I have taken her to the local post office to check her weight and was really surprised how cheaply it is to ship an elephant to the other side of the world and the thought of it even raised a smile on the face of our post master :-) Isn't the Internet a really wonderful thing?

WOYWW...

Hello to all my WOYWW friends. For those who don't know what this is all about please pop over to Julia the Queen of snoop's blog to check out all the other WOYWWers desks and while you're there put your name on Mr Linky and link it to a picture of your crafting space on your blog. It doesn't have to be a desk. It can be anywhere that you craft and create. Go on you know you want to.

What a week it's been. The 'to do' rail was filled, all sewing has been done and has now moved to the 'done' rail.





My dear friend and neighbour was discharged from hospital and transferred back to her care home on Friday but was rushed back to A & E on Sunday morning with more chest pain. Bless her, she has remained frightened and confused throughout and this certainly hasn't been helped by the fact that her bed has been moved to 4 different wards since she was admitted. The hospital system has certainly changed a lot since I worked there and I have to say not for the better. I am hoping she is transferred back to her care home very soon so that her feet touch the ground long enough to allow her to settle.


After my Saturday afternoon's fun at the knit and natter group at Shrewsbury theatre [see prev blog] I have sorted out some fabric and matching wools and have made a bag.





I'm rather pleased with the result so this one is for me but if anyone would like something similar I would be happy to make them one. I may make a few and put them in the blog shop next so watch this space



I have lined it out in a matching lime green fabric.

Thanks Suz for teaching me the spike stitch crochet.....I'm hooked.




Well, that's all from me this week. I will try harder to get round all your wonderful blogs....that is if emergencies will allow.

A New blog award....

Thanks to Chrissie I have just received a new blog award. Chrissie has a really lovely blog and makes the most amazing cards. What ever her challenge is, she designs the perfect card using the perfect colour combination so I feel very honoured that she likes my blog sufficiently to pass the award on to me. Thanks Chrissie.
In turn I need to name three things that I like about myself and then pass this award on to 7 other bloggers. The choice of recipients is megga as there I have so many wonderful blogging friends to choose from.




Firstly the 3 things I like about myself...

1. I care ...but because of this I can easily become frustrated when others don't care as much about the important things in life as I do....like the elderly!
   
2. I can sew...and because of this I now have 1014 customers and have made sooooo many friends because if it.
3. I love to make people smile....and when you smile others smile back so the world is a happier place.

Do you know it is really hard to think of 3 things you like about yourself :-)
Next the 7 bloggers to pass the award on to....

1. Twiglet [of course]....a lovely blog written by my best friend and sister.
2. Suz
3. McKinkle
   
4. Gez
5. Karen
6. Cardarian
7. Julia

Wow! that was really hard. I read so many lovely blogs and my list could go on and on.

Did I have a holiday?....

Someone told me I have had my summer holiday. :-)

As you can imagine life very quickly returns to my normal plate spinning routine. You will be pleased to hear at the moment I am still able to save all the spinning plates from dropping.....just.

My 'to do' rail filled very rapidly on Friday....I had 3 male customers call all at once and all with arms full of sewing!

Having taken my neighbour B into hospital on Wednesday she was discharged on Friday back to the Care home so it was another settling in for her on Friday night [alas the hospital failed to inform anyone of what they found wrong with her]. Each move finds her more and more upset and frightened in her confused state. Bless her if only she could be anywhere long enough to settle in. Her feet managed to touch the ground on Saturday but bless her she was rushed back to hospital [with yours truly in close pursuit again] on Sunday morning. After yet more long hours in A & E she was again admitted to the ward for observation and as far as I'm aware that's where she remains. Today she has to attend a fracture clinic for her broken leg and very likely she will be transferred back to the care home either later today or tomorrow. Old age really doesn't have a lot going for it does it?


In between hospital visits, care home visits etc etc I have managed to fit in the most enjoyable Saturday afternoon at Shrewsbury theatre at a Knit and Natter group organised by the wonderful Suz.
She happily taught me to do the Spike stitch crochet that she has been doing on her blog and I came home with the most amazing 10 balls of wool bought from her stock. She sells it at a very reasonable price so if anyone wants some pop over to Suz blog to find out more.




I managed to quickly make another batch of beetroot chutney and here are all the chopped up ingredients ready to be simmered down....it made 6 more jars of yummyness :-)




I also had a wonderful couple of hours with my youngest daughter A and her gorgeous little girls P and L. P is now 21 months, a real little girl and loves having her hair put up into pig tails...she had such fun playing in the garden with a little bucket and the garden chippings and playing hide and seek with her Granddad along the paths that weave through our garden :-)
Little L is now 4 1/2 months and is so much like her mummy as a little girl with big brown eyes and the most gorgeous sandy red hair....oh aren't we blessed :-)

So girls that's my busy weekend.....How was yours?

Apologies to my WOYWW friends.......

Many apologies to anyone who I didn't manage to get to this week...... think I managed 80 but was then called away. I doubt I wont manage to get to more this week as I am needed elsewhere.

My little neighbour who was transferred to the nursing home on Monday was rushed to hospital yesterday morning with a suspected heart attack. I am her 'next of kin' although not actually related. She is just a good neighbour and a friend of over 21 years. Twiglet came to the hospital with me and we sat in A & E for over 4 hours before she was admitted to the ward. Bless her she is confused and of course found it all rather frightening....so I was made well aware of why I still have an empty 'to do' rail.....She needed me :-)

Through my life this has happened so many times .....when I'm needed elsewhere my work load lessons and I find myself in the right place at the right time.

As soon as she was settled on the ward we had to call in at the nursing home to inform them of her condition and to pick up all her nighties and toiletries etc and then pop home for a bite to eat. I then did a quick turn round and, with my darling hubby, we popped her things back into her. I must have been away for over an hour but we had only been back with her for about 5 mins when the Dr came to examine her. [right place right time again] Bless her, she is so confused and really struggled to answer any of his questions so of course that was what I was there for [my nursing training is so useful at so very many times]. I was able to give him all the info that he needed. He was a really lovely Dr. Very patient and understanding and was more than happy to repeat himself many times to reassure B.

He didn't think it was a heart attack but was keeping her in for a day or two to do more tests and be sure before sending her back to the care home. Fingers crossed.

I will try to pop back here when I can but you can imagine there is lots I need to do....lets hope that 'to do' rail remains empty for a while eh?

WOYWW.....

Well? I would really have to say nothing at all.


This is my 'to do' rail [make the best of it because I know it won't be empty for long] .....







..... and this is my done rail. [ I managed to clear it ready for my holidays].




Yesterday I shortened 2 pair of curtains but apart from this I have no other sewing since I got back from my holidays....yes, I'm afraid I have to say I was actuallyAWOL last week and had set up my post to launch automatically. I really didn't want to miss out on the fun but was only able to visit a few blogs last week so many apologies for that....the network in out French Gite was really playing up so my time for blogging was really limited.

I am of course not wasting my free time. I have washed and ironed and caught up with all the chores we all have when back from hols and I have been 'playing' in the time I've had left.



This is the latest crocheted blanket I am working on. Twiglet and I sat catching up on all our news on our Fun Day Monday and I sat crocheting using some wool she had picked up at a Sunday Market...a real bargain :-)







These are a couple of coasters I have crocheted using some beautiful random crochet cotton I found in France.









I also found these two gorgeous little buttons [they are each only a couple or cm across and are actually white] in France and Twiglet and I will be using these in our latest challenge....not sure what we will be doing with them yet but I'm sure you will the first to see the results :-)



Now folks please pop over to Julia, our Queen of snoop's blog, and join in the WOYWW fun. I promise I will do my best to visit more blogs this week.

Old age hurdles.....

Old age comes with lots of hurdles on it's way doesn't it?

Some of you might remember that I helped my elderly neighbour with her emergency when she fell down her stairs and broke her leg back on Friday 9th July. Bless her, she was admitted to the nearest cottage hospital bed that was available but it was 45 minutes from me so I have been dashing up there as often as I could to see to her needs. She lives on her own and has been my neighbour for 21 years so has become a dear friend.

She still has a plaster cast on her leg and the trauma of it all has caused a lot of confusion so she is needing a lot of reassurance and TLC. Last night she was transferred to a care home just a few miles from me. She was supposed to have been transferred in the afternoon but her transport had been late and she wasn't transferred til tea time. It's so funny how things happen because this all ended up being timed to perfection. My darling hubby and I arrived just as she had arrived so we were able to lesson the trauma and settle her into her new room with limited stress and now she is close enough for me to pop to her when she needs me so that hopefully now her recovery will improve.

I have to say it was a huge hurdle for her and the change will probably unsettle her for a few days but it was a pretty big hurdle for me too. My own Mum had been in the same care home for the last 2 years of her life and being there brought back lots of memories. I had to pass Mum's room to take B to her room. :-( I guess we will both jump this hurdle that life has put in our way and life will go on. Hopefully she will settle in well and be really happy in her new home and, knowing that, I can cope with anything.

Ok...I own up....

Hello my blogging friends. I have to own up to having been AOL for the last week. I have had a well earned holiday in France. I did my WOYWW post automatically because I didn't want to miss out on the fun and of course it isn't a good idea to advertise the fact that you're on holidays. We had a week in a rustic French gite near La Chataigneraie in the south Vendee with our eldest daughter and her boyfriend and our son and his girlfriend. We had a fabulous time with good food, mostly great weather [only one day's rain] and the very best of company. We slept, ate, sunbathed, laughed and explored the countryside around us.....oh and learned to play Canasta :-)

I have to be honest and say I love to go away, enjoy being away from the door bell and telephone, certainly benefit from the rest but I really love coming home the most. Back now to sit in my favourite chair, have a warm bath and sleep in our own bed.

WOYWW....

Another week has passed and here we are again exposing our crafting spaces to the world. Thanks to Julia a weekly snoop at other desks/spaces has become an essential part of my week. What a fab group of bloggers I visit every week too. The crafts are varied and even though I'm not much of a paper crafter I really do appreciate the wonderful cards you girls make and am in awe of the amazing equipment some of you have and use regularly to such great effect. I get excited each week when I see a sewing machine out or fabrics in use and even more excited at the huge number of you that regularly visit my blog and leave me such lovely comments. It really makes my week and for that I would like to thank you all.




This week I can show you the gorgeous wedding dress I steamed last week. This one was a fairly simple/classic design but looked really lovely on it's wearer :-)








On my to do rail is a jacket that needs a new zip....nothing new there I hear you say....but this one was left for me to do by my latest new customer [number 1012!!] who has come from the United Arab Emirates!! Wahoooooo I'm conquering the world slowly girls :-) You can fly in from anywhere now just to bring me your sewing :-)









Right girls I'm keeping it short this week. Please pop over to Julia's blog and link your blog on Mr Linky to join in the WOYWW fun. Be warned though cos it's really addictive.

Just as a little extra....I was asked for the recipe I use for beetroot chutney. If you like beetroot it's well worth a go cos the result is really yummy.

Ingredients:

• 3 Ibs beetroot
• 1 large onion
  
• 1 large cooking apple
• 12ozs sugar
• Level tspn salt
• 1 pint pickling vinegar

The amounts of vegetables aren't crucial really and I often add more onion, apples or even courgettes to the mixture.

Method:

1. Cook beetroot, peel and dice into small pieces
2. Peel and dice onions
3. Peel and dice apple
4. Put into large pan and add sugar, salt and vinegar.
5. Bring to the boil and simmer until ingredients are soft.
6. Fill jars and label.

Tasty on meat sandwiches or added to salads.

WOYWW...

Blimey! it's Wednesday again. They seem to come round in the wink of an eye. Today is another steamy day for me. I have a beautiful Wedding dress and two little boy's tailed jackets to steam today so it will be windows and open for me while I'm doing them.




I can't show you the dress I'm steaming today but for those that like my posh frocks here is a snap of the one I steamed last week. It had the longest train I have ever had to steam. Isn't it just beautiful? It reduced the Mother-in-law to be to tears when she called to collect it :-)









I have finished the baby blanket I showed you the start of last week and have now crocheted a border around the edge in a pale green and have made two flowers to decorate the front with but will leave sewing them on for now.





I have now started another baby blanket in another pretty random wool in pink and cream. I like to have something to do while watching television in an evening.....I never like to sit idle :-)





That's all from me for this week so please pop over to Julia's blog to check out the other desks on show this week. Have a happy Wednesday my friends.

Garden magic and a special order feltie...

Yesterday we picked more of the wonderful produce from our garden and with a bit of chopping and cooking the onions and beetroot together with some apples, sugar and vinegar were transformed into.....

....... some really yummy beetroot chutney...I know it's yummy cos we had some in a sandwich at lunchtime today :-)

Also my other show and tell of today is a cute little bride bear I have been asked to make for a blogging friend. This is my latest feltie creation who I have named Grace. She is a one off feltie but I would be willing to make similar to order for anyone wanting one.