Excuses excuses

I made a promise to myself that I would do my very bestest to blog a little more often than I have of late, its obvious I haven't adhered to this promise (thankfully I only made it to myself) and have in fact blogged less....OH DEAR!
It's not that the intention isn't there, I have a camera/phone on the verge of combustion from all the photographs I take with the intention of boring you all to death.
I have blamed my recent lack of posts on many things, including bloggers block (still not sure if there is such a thing) Iv'e also used lack of time and inspiration as an excuse, but to be perfectly honest I have come to realise it's just plain old fashioned laziness.
Plenty has happened since my last post but the time lapse has blurred things a little and everything is out of sync but I'll try and do a super quick catch up for anyone out there who is still remotely interested!

we had a little trip to the big smoke

We've been busy in our little plot

and enjoying the fruits of our labour.

Iv'e been busy with the hook

and the glue

and there have been one or two thrifty finds

There has also been a small matter of a 13th birthday  but I'll save that for next time.

thanks to everyone who has stayed tuned! xxx

Summer Lovin

I absolutely bloomin love the sunshine, and here in sheffield we have had it by the bucket load, but not before time!

It's been like heaven arriving home from work and enjoying my afternoon cuppa in our little secret part of the garden.

essential reading material

summer in a glass

equally delicious

The garden has really come in to it's own this year and things are maturing nicely, some parts of the garden are lacking in colour at the moment but with a little tweaking here and there, this time next year everything should be looking the way I'd like.

Unfortunately the sun seems to have done a runner and it's back to cloud and grey skies with a rumble of thunder threatened for later on this week.

Hope you  enjoyed the sunshine while it lasted.

: )  x

It's been a while

Well hello there.
I'm still here although it seems like ages since my last post.
Iv'e been a bit, what you could call 'out of sorts' lately.
I'm not entirely sure what it brought this about but I'm guessing it may have had something to do with me being called upon to do jury service. I think I have been feeling a little anxious without realising it, I have even lost a few pounds so I know something is up!
Anyways I have been excused from the call up as they have enough for the jury, so I'm now feeling slightly relieved, but at the same time a little disappointed...there's no pleasing me is there?!!!

There's nothing much happening around here at the moment, the usual day to day stuff, school run, work, tidying up after EVERYONE, laundry, throwing together a meal before back out for the school run, you know how it is!
I suppose that's another reason why I haven't been around much, just getting on with life really.


Last Monday evening we attended little H's school for a GCSE options presentation. I'm doing a fabulous impression of an ostrich at the moment, burying my head in the sand, wishing it would all go away, as my baby is far too young to be considering his GCSE options (o.k I know he's nearly 13)but the only options he should have to face at the moment is whether to put ketchup or brown sauce on his bacon buttie or what colour pants to wear!
I am so not ready for this.

I have managed to squeeze in a teeny weeny bit of crafting, just to relieve the stress you understand.

The campervan hexie cushion is coming along nicely albeit a little slower than anticipated, probably due to the fact Iv'e started something else....OOOPS just how did that happen?!!!

I couldn't resist the colours of this cheap as chips wool. I think I just needed something bright and cheerful to cheer me up on the dark, dull and downright miserable January days.

Iv'e also managed to make a few cards but not nearly enough to see me through the year, which if you remember from my last post was my intention. Never fear the card making stuff is still on the dining room table so I intend to crack on with a few more this week.


I feel slightly more myself now that February is here because as some of you know February is my birthday month.
I'm not that happy about being another year older and even less enthused about looking another year older but on the plus side birthdays in our house are always celebrated with a day out somewhere and ALWAYS cake.
This year Mr. H and I will be tootling over to Buxton to see a band and the lovely Mr. H has also booked a little place to stay over, so no driving home.

I haven't had much luck with the thrifting lately, my local charity shops seem to be struggling to fill the shelves at the moment.
I did attend a jumble sale last weekend where I did pick up this cute little bookcase.

Sadly it went downhill from there as I ended up in a slanging match with a couple of blokes who thought it was acceptable to push me so hard I nearly ended up on top of the table along with the jumble, suffice to say I left in a huff with my little bookcase tucked tightly under my arm!

: ) x

Don't stop me now

Well the first week back at work done and dusted and boy am I glad it's over.
Things are a little unsettled AGAIN as another co worker bites the dust  (through choice) so as from Monday I am back to running the cafe practically singlehandedly until the new lady starts in a few weeks time. TBH I'm trying not to even think about it!
 There will be more disruption to come in February as Iv'e been called upon to do Jury service, I'm  excited and nervous scared to death at the same time...eeeeeek!
On the plus side I'm on a crafting roll at the moment and there's no stopping me.
A small mountain of hexies have been lovingly whipstitched together ready to be made into two cushion covers...hopefully by next week.

 Hand stitching is most definitely my 'thing' and Iv'e loved plonking myself on the sofa of an evening, feet up with a cuppa and one or two  three or four biscuits to hand, stitching away... trouble is, I don't want to stop there so Iv'e embarked on another hexie cushion project, this time for the campervan. It's going to be another random pattern (not sure random pattern makes sense but I know what I mean!)  Iv'e decided I prefer this look on a small project, and I also have lots of odd bits of fabric to use up, so two birds one stone and all that.

Like I said hand stitching is my thing, it always has been and I'm proud to say I have been complemented on my teeny tiny stitches more than once, However I'm determined that 2013 will be the year I bond with my sewing machine and hopefully dare I say it, become firm friends... (don't hold your breath as Iv'e had this same conversation with myself on many an occasion!)

I also had a pile of badges to sew onto little H's scout shirt (not my favourite kind of stitching project!) but it reminded me of another little job I wanted to do....unpick the badges from his cub scout jumper so I can stitch them onto the family camp blanket.

This brought a little tear to my eye, it's the helpers badge that little H  had to stitch on all by himself, I think he was 8 or 9 when he did this so not bad eh!

 In a bid to become slightly more organised with the birthdays this year and to satisfy my craft obsession Iv'e decided to make all the cards (plus a few spares) I'm going to need for the year.
I'm always on the last minute with birthdays, sometimes only remembering the day before, or in my step Sister's case the day after...ooops sorry Sis. Anyhow it gives me the perfect excuse to order myself a few new goodies to add to the stash.
 I will also be popping over to Creative Breathing for inspiration. I have dipped in and out of this blog for ages now but after seeing the fabulous Christmas creations I am now a regular loiterer!
I have to be in the mood for card making but when I am I become obsessed, especially when I come up with an idea, I end up with endless variations on that theme.

Sadly there have been no thrifty finds of late and I'm starting to feel a little tetchy so I'm planning  a mooch around the local charity shops tomorrow....better wrap up warm!

Hopefully I will be back next week with at least one Tah dah.

Have a great weekend   : )

Stitchathon

Alas there have been no thrifty finds of late so any photos of your recently aquired treasures would be greatly appreciated as you know how I need my thrifty fix!
Thank you Miss Beatrix for the pyrex post it truly lifted my spirits!

Iv'e been keeping myself out of trouble by doing a spot LOT of sewing.
I started the stitching marathon at the start of last week when I decided I was going to put my camper blanket to one side

Threading in ends is never an enjoyable experience

As soon as I saw this in Cath's new book I was certain I could make a better job of it , I think it's the poor quality of the felt that I was disappointed with. Lucky for me I have a large massive stash of lovely soft felt.

here is my version

these also caught my eye and will be used as gift tags on Christmas presents for people who I know will appreciate my craftiness.

Iv'e blurred out the initials on the tags just in case they are reading!

It seemed a shame to stop there being as I was on such a roll so out came
fa la la felt and before I could stop myself I had made these.

They are for a lovely friend who also happens to be little H's Godmother (I hope isn't reading this!)

They will be carefully wrapped and put into her Christmas stocking along with this.

I have made a few other bits and bobs which I will be giving as gifts so for the moment I will keep them under wraps!


in between all this hand stitching I knew I needed a new apron for work so out came the dreaded machine and in about 2 hours I managed to cobble together something resembling an apron.
A couple of hours is pretty good going for me so I was feeling pretty pleased with myself and a few buttons hand stitched on here and there, I was more than happy with the finished result, sadly no photo at the moment as the apron is currently in the washing machine...lets just hope it survives!

Hopefully by the end of this week I will have completed another Christmassy project for my etsy shop ......so many projects so little time

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

Time has been a little tight over the last few weeks but I have managed to put a few new bits and bobs in my Etsy shop (blatant self promotion I know) just in time for dare I say it....Christmas!

If you look at this picture from a distance it looks as though the cheeks are evil eyes hehehe!

how cute are the little envelopes containing the beads and buttons.

Speaking of the C word, I spotted these at a local antique centre a couple of weekends ago for £4, they will adorn our tree along with our ever growing collection.

It doesn't half feel strange talking about Christmas when we have had such glorious weather recently. I found these photos on the camera that Mr. H took a couple of weeks ago

As you can probably see our garden is seriously lacking in colour at this time of year, (this is something we are working on) but boy you should see it in Spring.