It's all a bit too much at the moment...

No pictures today I'm afraid - just a quick post to say I may not be around for a while. Miss Chatterbox's finger has become horribly infected and she's being re-admitted to hospital. Meanwhile Pickle looks like she may be heading the same way too as an old recurring problem seems to be rearing its head again. Trouble is our hospital is split into two sites and yep, one child will be on one site and the other child on the second site. Will let you know how things progress....

Back soon (hopefully!)
xx

Oh, and Jellybelly jellybrain is having a giveaway on her site. Check here to have a look!

Presents sent and recieved!

Last week I received a lovely package in the post from Gerry in America as part of the FQ swap organised by Katy. Inside was lots of lovely goodies

- thank you!

And now that I know my swap partners have received their packages, this is what I sent to Gerry:

...and this is what I sent to Indigo Blue for the mug swap organised by Jennyflower.

I had great fun doing these, can't wait for the next swap!

Baby shoes..

I just had to share these! My first attempt at making baby shoes. I love them and are really pleased with how they turned out. I already have a recipient for these, so am now off to make some more!

It's a bit addictive this sewing lark, isn't it?!

I am SO enjoying my dressmaking course! I think it helps that the items I have made have been so well received. This week I finished the 'mystery' project..

Ta Da! a cute and simple dress for Miss Chatterbox.

So then it was time to choose the next project. A slight problem. As the course is held in rooms above our local fabric shop, there is a readily available supply of fabric, but the problem was, they had just had a delivery of lovely spring/summer cottons. I was not able to choose. Could not, did not! So here is the preview of my next TWO dresses!

This pattern,


in this fabric for Miss Pickle.


and this pattern


in this fabric for Ladybug.

I think I'm going to do alternate panels for the long summer dress, Boden hotchpotch style.

But not only will my sewing skills be put to the test, but my language skills too. The patterns come from this Dutch magazine and so I'm going to have to translate the pattern as I go. Could be interesting!

..Will let you know how I progress!

TaDa! (...and other noises to that effect!)

They're finished! My first attempts at dressmaking and the product of the first three weeks of my course.

one...


...two...


...three!


They are far from perfect, and don't look too closely at them or you might see my mistakes! I am really pleased with how they have turned out though, and more importantly, I think the girls like them...

...what do you think...?!



oh, and here's a sneak preview of what I'm making next..


...can you guess what it is yet?!!

The best way to start the day!

I knew today was going to be a good day (and boy did I need one!) when as he was leaving to do the school run, my husband bent down and picked up a parcel for me that was lying on the front doorstep. The packaging gave it away slightly - 'Mug Swap' written in red ink on the outside and in a very self contained manner, I found my camera before unwrapping it!


And this is what it contained...

a lovely knitting pattern..

some delicious biscuits (and these are one of my favourites)...


..a lovely hand-painted mug..

a colourful brooch..


..my very own bottle of love..


..a stamp..


..a lovely bag (which I had to fold to photograph!) whose length seems very perfect for my knitting needles..

..buttons (I love buttons!)

..some coffee (perfect for my morning cappuccino!)


and the most wonderful fabric (heaps of it!) I have been thinking all day about what I can make with this. I just can't decide!

Wow! I feel very spoilt and want to say a big 'Thank You!' to DasieDays who sent me this wonderfully generous package. Now I need to put the last touches to the parcel for my partner. Oh, did I mention the fabric.....!

Well, that wasn't expected!

It's been a bit of a strange week here. After the disruptions caused by snow on Monday and Tuesday, we found our weekend taking a different turn than that which we had imagined. It was one of those silly things. Miss Chatterbox was upstairs (supposedly) brushing her teeth, when we heard one of those screams. The kind that makes you drop whatever you were doing and run. Fast. Very fast.

Miss Chatterbox had somehow (and we still don't know how) managed to get her finger caught in the hinge side of the door and it wasn't pretty. I thought from looking at it that it wasn't good, and when my husband said we need to go to A&E I definitely knew.


At A&E we found out that she had actually broken the bone and were asked to come back today to the plastic surgery team for an operation to clean the wound and to stitch the finger together - well at least that's what we thought.


We left the hospital this evening with Miss Chatterbox, but with the addition of a metal rod which goes down through the middle of her bone and her finger. Plus, the biggest bandage I have ever seen! Gosh. We hadn't expected that.

I'm no stranger to the hospital, I've had a lot of stays there myself in the past two and a half years, but it was so different seeing Miss C succumb to the anesthetic. I would gladly have changed places rather than see her lying there. But Miss Chatterbox, my little four year old, this little person who screams when she has a tiny scratch, has been a star, an absolute angel. No complaints, no hysterics and she hasn't stopped talking all day!

I am so proud of her.

And the winner is.....

Whew! What a lot of people stopped by yesterday. I do hope that some of them will continue to come back.

The winner is ...

...which by my calculation is Bunny.

Congratulations! The package will be in the post shortly. I do hope you enjoy using the goodies.

Thank you to the hundreds(!) who stopped by yesterday and a great big

'Thank you!'

to Katy for organising this. It was great fun!

Today's the Day!

Today is the day of the great International Stash busting giveaway and here is my 'offering'









I have a bundle of fat quarters
(7 in total - one got missed off the photos!) in shades of yellow, orange and green. I'm not sure of the manufacturer as they have been sitting on my shelf for ages. I have come to realise that I just don't do things in these colours!

I also have some coordinating ribbons and lace to give away with the fabric. The lace is vintage - from my Grandmother-in-law's collection, and the ribbon is in 1m lengths

I hope that someone can make good use of these and give them a good home. Much better than sitting neglected on my shelves!

Just leave a comment underneath and I will pick a winner at lunch time tomorrow!

Snowflakes are falling on my head.....

I'm enjoying the weather today so very much!


The snow has been falling since yesterday afternoon and is getting heavier as I type. We weren't sure at first whether the snow would stick or not - but it has - yipee!










It's a very rare occurrence here in the South East of England - apparently it's the heaviest for 18 yrs. We are a family of snow lovers; my husband and I often sneak away for a spot of snowboarding , and I'm always happiest when surrounded by the 'white stuff'. Well, we haven't got the snowboards out yet, but all the children's schools were closed so we have had lots of fun outside and in a moment we're all going sledging - pics to follow.

For all those who are caught in the snow - enjoy!