Plants, Paper, Patchwork!

It was my brithday a couple of days ago.  My daughter invited us for a meal and gave me the gorgeous tulips (the colours are much more striking than I've managed to capture here) and my son gave me the Hebe which will go in the garden to replace one we lost in the harsh winter frosts.  I'm also booked in for an Indian Head Massage next week, courtesy of my OH.  I find it so relaxing, having my hair washed at the salon but it never lasts long enough so I'm hoping this will compensate and relax me for at least a few days!

 I was browsing Etsy a while back, looking for some prints to hang in my 'shed' and came across these adorable 'paper cuts'! Little Miss Muffet was perfect with the spider theme.

However, I'm not sure what this one is meant to be!  I actually ordered Rumplestiltskin - the spinning theme was also appropriate - but this one came instead.  It looks like an old man with a stick and a long beard so I'm a bit confused.  They didn't cost very much and took so long to come that I'm going to keep it now anyway.

This is the first bit of stitching I've done for nearly a month and I'm thankful to discover that I haven't lost my enthusiasm for it. I'd just got out of the habit of doing a little bit here and a little bit there. I had tidied up a lot of my things before going on holiday and I found it an effort to get it out again. I've got a good break from work coming up and I'm determined to get the rest of my stash/equipment/materials moved into' The Thread Shed' in the garden. It might be an effort to get out there to stitch until it becomes a habit but having it all in one place will be easier and the better weather will also help until I get into a routine.

This is my February block for the Tag Square Bee (in the background is the start of the March block). I held off from joining any bees until I thought I could devote enough time to it, so I'm disappointed to have got behind like this. The recipient of this block wanted it to be black, white and yellow and I've been trying to acquire some black (to no avail). So this is the block that was sent off yesterday and now I need to get hold of some white fabric to add to the blue for the March block. And as it's April tomorrow, I'd better find out what the next recipient wants!!

Tonight, a friend has invited me as a guest, to go with her to a Book a Cook social at the house of a member of a business network group she belongs to. I won't know anyone except her, but hopefully it will be fun and I'll meet some nice, new people!

Edited to add: - I meant to say before, and was reminded while reading Rhonda's blog, Down to Earth, that I  think my eco-friendly ways are beginning to rub off on the family (or at least make them think).  OH and DS each bought me body lotion for my birthday too and made an effort to get natural products, and DD pointed out that the tulips were grown in the UK and not flown half way round the world!!

Bye for now
Teresa x

Bra....vo! One for the ladies! (not that any men read this, as far as I know)

(The theme of this week's photos is mainly the 'exciting' things I got up to last weekend and are nothing whatsoever to do with this post!  Sadly I have no new stitchy news.  I seem to have no energy or motivation for it since I got back from holiday - my mind still whirrs with ideas but I can't persuade my body to carry them through.)

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I'm sure you all know that a woman's bra size can vary greatly over her lifetime.  Puberty to the menopause and everything in between (pregnancy and childbirth being the main culprits) can have an effect.



(Vacuuming with The Bee - a cleaner I bought partly to enter a competition (I needed it anyway) and won a pressure washer!)

 It's challenging enough to get a bra that fits at the best of times without having to review the situation every few years.  The fact that sizes vary between brands doesn't help either! I've also found that the formula often quoted for calculating bra size to be far wide of the mark (you know the one - measure underneath, measure over the top, add or subtract a set number then calculate the cup size from the difference).  

(Washing out in the sun to dry for the first time this year.  The flat airer fell over twice that day - grrrr!)

And what if you're not exactly....ahem....symmetrical! The problems then increase to inlcude making decisions such as, "Do I go larger and get a chicken fillet to even things up?" or "Do I go smaller and risk overspill?" (Not that I have this problem you understand)



(I don't very often do my own ironing these days but my 'lady' is a bit unreliable lately and I still haven't caught up from the holday.  My sister offered to do this weeks basket :-)

Considering all this, why then, a couple of weeks ago, did I buy on impulse (something I rarely, if ever, do these days), a bra from a supermarket for £8 without so much as trying it on? 


(A close-up of the braid I bought in Italy.)

 'The Bra' was a size that I consider myself to be (not calculated as above) and, joy of joys, was the most perfect fitting bra that I have ever bought!! It was as if it was tailor-made just for me!  It has good support without being 'matronly' and  is pretty without being 'skimpy', if you know what I mean! 

(A beret style hat I crocheted to wear in Italy.  I did wear it quite a bit but have decided it needs a few modifications)

I'm sure I'm not the only woman whose day was 'made' by such a simple thing!!

And now you know why I have no photos to accompany this post ;-)

Bye for now
Teresa x

(Disclaimer - I have never, ever made use of a chicken fillet.  Anyway, what are they?  Never heard of 'em!!)

Bye for now
Teresa x

Italy - March 2011

The Italian Alps in all their snowy glory.  This is where OH and  I and 9 friends headed last week for a skiing holiday.  I''ve mentioned before that I don't ski but I'd never been to Italy so decided to go with them this time.

My sister (who also doesn't ski) and I spent our time walking, looking around the town, reading and drinking hot chocolate or vin brulee (mulled wine).  We were struck by the ingenuity of this tree trunk made into a stand for heathers outside a gift shop.

We couldn't resist buying a bread roll from this vending machine, put in the doorway of the local bakery when it was closed.  There wasn't much in the way of English translation to help us so, as we were in the middle of working out what to do, a local lady came up and showed us that we had to place the bag under the shoot and told us which button to press. We shared the roll which, although was nice and fresh was, disappointingly, very salty.

On one of our walks we came across this road sign and had to take a picture to show the rest of our party.  Various explanations for its meaning included 'No Trumpet Blowing' and 'Don't Make a Noise to Cause an Avalanche' but we concluded that the most likely meaning was 'No Car Horn Tooting'.

Most days were full of beautiful sunshine which was good for us and the skiers!

This was one of the nicer mulled wines we sampled sitting outside a bar that became our 'local' for the week.  On one occasion my sister and I went separate ways (me to buy gifts and her to find a chair lift that had eluded our map reading skills).  After a few hours I stopped at this bar and ordered a hot chocolate with cream (yum) and was sitting waiting for it when my sister walked in.  I called her but she didn't see me and went straight in to the ladies.  I watched the door for her coming to sit outside but somehow missed her because the next thing I knew she was texting me from a table around the corner saying she was drinking hot wine and asking what I was doing.  Great minds think alike!!!

These are the bits and pieces I picked up that day.  A pack of biscuits for each of the kids.  Some stone-ground dark chocolate for my parents and a few bits for myself (a fridge magnet, a metal hook for my shed and some wide, alpine themed braid).

A couple of the Six Nations Rugby matches were on while we were away so, there we were, watching Italy beat France and Wales beat Ireland (woo hoo!) in an Irish bar in Italy!

I'd like to say things are back to normal now but I'm still playing catch-up at work and at home! 

I had a few comments about the green fabric in my last post making me realise how remiss I'd been not to mention it.  It's the first piece I've used from a lovely pile of fabrics from New Zealand that I won in a giveaway run by Lis of Online Quilting.

Bye for now

Teresa x

What's been happening around here since we last met!

Here it is, my new-to-me car, as promised (I nearly put 'she' instead of 'it' but I'm not one for giving personalities or names to inanimate objects!).  It's quite...well....Blue!!  It actually looks shinier and slighty blue/green in real life.  It'll do for me for a while (no heated seats Leslie but that's not where I feel the cold!).

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My Scrap Swap parcel arrived yesterday from Sally exactly on deadline as arranged by Ali of Very Berry Handmade. A great selection of scraps here, many of which I've not seen before.  I'm sure they'll come in very useful.  Thank you Ali and Sally!

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The look of the little bags I've been making recently all depend on the zip.  My starting point when making these has to be whatever zip I have in my stock that's a suitable colour, length and type.  In this case a dark green one.  Next comes the fabric to go with it.  Finally, the size and design of the bag depends on the length of the zip and the size of the pieces of fabric available.  This process is obviously governed by the used materials I'm able to get hold of, but suits me fine in that quite a few of the decisions are out of my hands.  Therefore, procrastinating is kept to a minimum and precious time is saved!   This is a birthday gift for one of my sisters and will be filled with a couple of pampering goodies. See, I remembered my label (only the 2nd time) and didn't sew it in upside-down like the last time!

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Two tiers of tasty treats here; My usual batch of muffins on the top and a double batch of Oaty Ginger Cookies from a recipe from Ali's blog (see Ali's link above).  The muffin recipies always make exactly 12.  Don't know what happened this time but only just managed to scrape 11 out of it (I know what you're thinking, but no, I didn't succumb to temptation before taking the pic)!

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And finally......I know it's 1st March today and not April but I had to check twice before I sent the email requested by my boss via his assistant.  I was concerned that I was being taken for a fool.  He wanted me to ask everyone in the office to save the the 'dots' from hole-punches and collect them together for him to use as confetti at a family wedding next year!!!

Do you see why I had reservations?

Bye for now
Teresa x

Doing my Bit for the P.O.!

Due to the fact that I was camera-less last week, I should have twice as much to show today. Wrong!!  The photos of the zipped bag I made for DS's girlfriend were lost somewhere during the changeover, but you'll just have to believe me when I say it was very pretty!

I've been on a sending/receiving spree and made good use of the postal service this week!

This is the lovely Tuscan themed block I received from Jo of Bear Paw for The Tag Square Bee for February.  I've been very punctual about getting my blocks sent out so far but this month I am delayed due to a serious shortage (complete lack) of black fabric. 

 I've been better organised for the Scrap Swap organised by Ali of Very Berry Handmade which had to be sent by 28th Feb.  This is the little parcel of goodies that is winging it's way to Jenny of Gingerbread House, if it's not arrived already!

 It's not diffucult to find recycled/rescued fabric to add to my stash but old reels of thread are another matter.  I've, very rarely, picked up the odd reel in charity shops but Ali (see above) came up trumps with her recommendation for the site Rag Rescue, which is where I got these beauties!  I was a bit worried that, if they were very old, they would be weak and unusable but they seem to be fine and they're exactly the sort of colours I use quite often.

 Brightly coloured buttons are also not easy to come by so I supplemented my collection with a couple of 'lots' from ebay. (Wonder how that rogue purple got into the yellows?)

I finally got the red thread, from my auntie, that I needed to finish this cushion and, would you believe it, the reel was so big it wouldn't fit on my little domestic machine!  So, instead of satin-stitching the little linen hearts on, I blanket-stitched by hand.  Here it is reclining on a kitchen chair................

.............and here posing on a comfy chair.

Here's the obligatory close-up - pores and all!!

Next week I will have swapped my car (and some money!) for a newer one.  OH tells me I need a car that is more economical on longer journeys so it'll have a slightly bigger engine.  Don't ask me anything about cars because they don't interest me one bit.  So long as they get me from A to B I'm satisifed, although I did want a green one (it's blue!!).  I'll show you next time.

Bye for now

Teresa x

Picture-less Post!

Hello everyone, just popping in because I can't keep away, even though I have no photos to pretty up the post.  I hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day!  My OH said he'll do some of my ironing for me for V Day!!  What more could a girl ask for!?  I've mentioned to him in the past that I think V Day is too commercialised, which he interpreted as "I don't want anything"!  To be fair though, I only got him a little box of heart-shaped chocs and it will be good to get some of the ironing out of the way!

My DS, on the other hand, went the whole hog, as you do when you're 22!  Roses, chocolates and a meal.  All that having just come back from a weekend away for his girlfriend's birthday.  And that is why I have no photos!! 

Confused? Well let me explain.  DS's girlfriend had a camera for her birthday but it had no memory card.  They wanted to take photos on their weekend away and lo and behold my memory card fitted her camera.  My first instinct was to say 'no' which I did.   How could I blog without any photos?  Then I felt really selfish and mean.  She said she would manage with her phone camera, then I felt even meaner! Their first break alone together and I was going to deny them any decent photographic memories of the occasion!  Their need was greater than mine.

Now, if I did have a camera over the weekend I would have shown pics of the zipped pouch I made for her birthday, the pile of goodies I dug out of my stash for the scrap swap at VeryBerryHandmade and I may have taken some photos outside on Saturday, which was a rare day of glorious sunshine.

You won't have to wait very long to see the craft goodies;  the glorious sunshine, however, is another matter and not in my control.

Oooh - I've just noticed my Stat Counter is nearly at 5,000 - that will be something to celebrate!!

Bye for now
Teresa

Roles Have Reversed!

On Friday evening OH and I went with DD and her partner to watch England beat Wales :-(  in the Rugby at the local pub.  DS and his girlfriend joined us later when he finished work, and we and our friends took part in a monthly charity quiz.  We've somehow ended up playing girls against boys in these quizes (never mind what any other team scores!) and it's become a bit competitive.   It was 2:1 to the girls until then and I think we drew so no gloating this time (the boys that is!!).  When OH and I got home at 2am!!, our DS and DD were already tucked up safely in bed!!  Roles have reversed somewhat over the last few years - not that we make a habit of this you understand, but where did we get such sensible offspring? There was a reason for the responsible behaviour though - they had arranged to go to a club in Cardiff on Saturday night for DD's birthday. 

DD's present that I managed to finish in time.  All recycled materials, except the yellow fabric.

 Getting to bed that late would have been fine if we'd been able to have a lie-in, but the phone rang at 7.30am on Saturday to call OH out to a fallen tree on the Estate that was blocking an access road.  He took DS with him to drive and help cut up/move the tree (both have chainsaw certs).  I didn't get back to sleep after that and spent my day at the quilting club in a sleepy haze, doing a bit of hand quilting and trying to give sensible replies when spoken to.


I added a Suffolk Puff to the front, turned up the bottom corners with buttons and filled it with goodies.

I was still very tired on Sunday but managed to potter about getting housework done (apart from an hour or so in the afternoon when I sat down to have a cup of tea and almost didn't get going again)!

As mentioned in the last post here is my second Ripple Scarf made from an un-run (frogged) jumper.  This one has 2 wider ripples instead of 4 narrower like the first one (see Stitchng Progress page 2010 if you want to compare).

 Finally,  here's my January block for the Tag Square Bee from the clever Nanabanana of Sisters in Stitches, all the way from Texas.  I think this design may be called Bear Paw  (Never mind thinking it, it's pretty obvious really!) I need to start on my February block soon which will be black/white/yellow.  Having to select colour combinations that I wouldn't normally think of certainly helps with creativity and I love seeing what other Bee-ers come up with from my colour choice.  Before I do that though, I am in the process of making another zipped bag, like the one above, for my son's girlfriend's birthday on Friday.

Bye for now
Teresa x

Brooches and Beans!

Sunday afternoon was lovely and sunny, although still cold.  It put a smile on people's faces and allowed us bloggers to take some reasonable pictures.  My OH had come home Saturday evening from a week of skiing in France (just in time to refill the screen-wash in my car :-) and took over fire stoking duties once again.  Though I had managed to keep it going since he left.  It was good to have him back!

While he was away I was able to get on with my projects and not worry too much about having meals ready at certain times or even cooking at all!  I finished these 4 brooches, which I showed the makings of last time.  They're not quite how I pictured but I'm reasonably pleased with them.  I now have an idea to improve the design and have picked out the fabrics ready.

As you can see from the top pic, I made 2 small and 2 large (The small ones are a bit too small really).  All the fabrics/buttons etc are recycled or thrifted except the felt at the back which is wool felt that I bought a while ago.

I tried out the blanket stitch on my machine for the edge of this one.  It doesn't have quite the same rustic look of hand stitching that I like. 

All in all, the weekend was quite busy.  My Saturday Singing group met for the first time since December and started on some new material.  We haven't any events lined up after missing out on singing the Welsh songs we learned when the Welsh Evening was cancelled due to the snow! 

On Friday evening I remembered to put these haricot beans to soak.  I should have used a bigger bowl.  My DS told me I needed to add more water so, when I did, it was almost running over (that's why it's on the draining board!)

Saturday lunchtime I drained the beans, boiled them for 10-15 mins, drained again, then threw them in my slow cooker with a little of this and a little of that (see above).  I also added a large chopped onion, a large tin of tomatoes, some vegetable stock and some brown sugar (sorry, no measurement - I just threw it in).

Following the guidelines in my slow cooker book, I put it on low and then left it for about 7 hours (stirring once or twice, just out of curiosity).  I'm very satisfied with how they turned out.  Eminently recognisable, in both appearance and taste to the tinned sort, but better! Not sure if they work out cheaper though.  I'll have to check the prices.  I got about 8 portions out of this, some of which is in the freezer, but probably should have stretched to 10. I will definitely make them again!!

Sunday evening I popped up the road to my aunt's to cadge some red thread for the cushion cover I'm working on and to see if she has any fabric I could use as a border for my half-square-triangle quilt.  My aunt used to make a lot of curtains and soft furnishing for people but doesn't do it much now.  Consequently, she has lots of fabric remnants and bits and pieces which she keeps telling me to use.  I'm waiting impatiently to see what she digs out.  Come to mention it, I'm still waiting for my January block for the Tag Square Bee too. Nanabanana send it over 2 weeks ago and it still hasn't arrived yet.

It's my DDs 25th birthday today - Happy B'day Bessie!!! - and she reminded me I realised the other day that, although I've got her a couple of 'sensible' gifts, I don't have any nice little pressies that are fun.  I hastily ordered a couple of things online yesterday, in the hope that they will be delivered before we go out for a meal on Wednesday, (latest is they have been dispatched so fingers crossed) and yesterday evening stitched up another little something which I can't say any more about because she will quite possibly read this before then.  Besides which, it needs a bit of tweaking and finishing off tonight. I never make 2 things exactly the same, but have to make some kind of modification which is not always successful!! 

With all this expectation and things in progress there should be plenty to show next week, including my second Recycled Ripple Scarf.  That's the first time I've ever said that with any confidence.

Bye for now
Teresa x

8 Reasons Why I Blog!

1. Mostly, I blog because I enjoy it;

2. It motivates me to craft more;

3. I enjoy the interaction with lovely readers;

4. It's nice/useful to have a record of what I've accomplished to put into perspective;

5. I like having a record of what I (my friends, family etc) have been up to;

6. I like being part of this virtual world;

7. It's nice to share something that not many of my 'real' friends 'get'.

8. I would one day like to use my blog as a one of a number of ways to direct traffic to an online shop

I post once a week because it seems about right for me.  I tried twice a week but ended up looking for subject matter rather than just sitting down and letting it flow. I'm sure I'd get resentful if I made myself post more often and would then end up drifting away from here altogether.  It might not seem very spontaneous to have a rigid once-a-week timetable but if I didn't, I believe I would have the same drifting away problem, as intervals between posts became further apart!

My OH is away skiing in France this week and I was so looking forward to spending lots of time sewing.  It hasn't quite worked out like that so far but I did get some baking done (not the choc/nut muffins above - these are from last week - but some banana bread to use up some over-ripe bananas I had kept in the freezer) and tried cooking a whole chicken in my slow cooker (which turned out well). I'll cook chicken like this again - there's very little mess and the meat falls off the bones when it's done.

On my kitchen table is a little experiment in progress of a crafty idea I've had in my head for a while.  Things have moved on a little from this and the results are almost ready to show.  It hasn't turned out quite how I pictured but I already have an idea for a modification to try next.  I may have to test the waters, so to speak, and offer one of my prototypes as a giveaway to find out what you think of them.  If I make both versions and offer a choice, it will give me an idea of what would be successful.

My photographing mojo has been a bit lacking recently.  Once, I would see something interesting or beautiful and immediately whip out my camera, but lately I've been remembering when it's too late!  I say this, in case you're wondering about the random selection I've presented today - they're all I have that you haven't seen!!  I blame Christmas!! Well,  perhaps the holidays rather than Christmas itself.  I've got out of the habit - but fear not - I will make a concerted effort to get back on form.  I enjoy showing you my pics and, let's face it, this blog would be seriously lacking without them!!

Bye for now

Teresa x

Books: Old, New. Borrowed.........but not Blue!

I want to start today by thanking you lovely ladies for all your encouraging words and compliments in my comments.  It's largly because of your interest that I've made what I have, and I realise now I must stop comparing what I've done to other crafty bloggers and celebrate my own achivements.  I'm going to concentrate on my crafting and only look at other crafty blogs for inspiration, ideas and to 'oooh and ahhh' over all their goodies!!  (If you comment on this post, please don't mention this bit - I'm not fishing for compliments but wanted to thank you and let you know how you've helped me).

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The Christmas holidays saw quite a few books appear in our house from various directions. (Time now to sort through and get rid of few, one way or another - what do you do with your old books, do you take them to the charity shop, sell them on, give them as gifts or put in the bin?)

Below are a couple of new books I treated myself to for Christmas.  A Slice of the Goodlife is one I saw back in the summer at the Centre for Alternative Technology and kept in mind.  I've just finished reading The Handmade Marketplace (so it will be No 1 on my reading list for 2011!) and found it packed with useful information for when I start seriously selling my wares......ahem, ahem!  (I will one day, honestly!).  I'd heard about many of the crafty bloggers mentioned in it already which made it seem familiar.  A lot of the information in it was new to me and will be really useful to have on hand to refer to in the future.

This is another new book that I got my DS for Christmas.  It's also one we saw at the CAT Centre and which he showed an interest in. 

The book, The Great Explorers, below is also new and was a present to my OH from his boss.  He has quite an illustrious family and this book was edited by his uncle, the explorer Robin Hanbury-Tenison. 

These 4 books fall into the old category since I bought them from charity shops over the holidays.  Quite a mixture here:  a bit of light reading, a humorous history and a look at green fashion.

Now to the borrowed. At various times during the last year there were film crews filming at an old farmhouse on the estate where my OH works.  He was told it was for a film called 'Resistance' about what it would have been like if the Nazis had invaded Britain in WW2.  Eventually the TV news showed an article about it, interviewing the author of the book on which the film was based.  He was Owen Sheers, (who I don't know but) who grew up in a nearby town and whose grandparents lived at the end of our road for a while before they passed away a few years ago.   Owen started out as a poet and my mother collected his works, continuing to do so when he began writing novels as well.  So here we have the book 'Resistance' and his previous work, 'The Dust Diaries' borrowed from my mother.

Looking at piles of books makes me happy!  It's the same feeling when I look at my baskets of knitting yarn or shelves of fabric - The Potential!  My BIG problem now is which one to read next!!  I think it may have to be The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (first brought to my attention by Leslie) which I got from a charity shop and want to read before I watch the TV version I've recorded.

Ooh, I'm going for a lie down now!  It was tiring posting all those links :-)

Bye for now

Teresa x

Look to the Future!

Looking at my progress on my blog pages for reading and crafting I see that in 2010 I managed to read 14 books and complete 16 craft projects.  I immediately thought of declaring them dismal results but I must look at it a different way.  I must look at the lists and actually 'see' what is listed, congratulate myself on what I've achieved and aim to do more in 2011!  Therefore, I must look forward now and not back or I'll convince myself I can't do any better. My friend, who is a life coach, has told me that each time we meet up she wants me to bring something new that I've made to show her. That will be good motivation for me.

I'm aiming to get enough items made to take part in a small craft fair this year and maybe even sell to friends. This scarf, along with my purple mini quilt and small embroidered hanging/runner makes 3 items in stock!! I finished up this scarf, which is made from reclaimed yarn, during the days after Christmas when I wasn't feeling my best.  It's not from a pattern exactly but based on an idea from Betz White that intrigued me.

The recent holidays also saw me finish sewing together the half-square-triangles at last!! I need to decide where to go with it next.  I think it needs some kind of border to finish it off but will have to put a bit more thought into it.

The Tag Square Bee had a break for December but is back in action now for January.  I had an idea for the block below but somehow managed to cut 8 instead of 4 squares for the middle.

So I cut extra small squares and made this one aswell. Monafrank wanted a block with all shades of green (except neon) and would welcome the odd bit of blue, red or orange in it too.

I've decided to send her this one simply because I asked my OH and DS which one they prefered and they chose it!  I'll make a cushion cover or something out of the other one.  I nearly forgot - someone must be sending me a block too - can't wait until it comes and I can add it to the pile.

I didn't intend for this to be 2 'bread-shaped' loaves!  It started as a plan to be one 'bread-machine-shaped' loaf.  Wanting to make use of my machine in the holidays I used a pack of granary flour I had in the cupboard and followed the recipe on the pack.  The recipe made 8 rolls so I thought I'd double it and started throwing ingredients into the pan.  When it came to the flour it wouldn't all fit so I left some out, put the pan in the machine and crossed my fingers!  I went to check after 15 minutes and, although the machine was making a noise, nothing was moving!!  There was nothing for it but to tip it all out and continue by hand.  I was quite relieved when I saw it was acually rising!  Turned out alright in the end I think!

Bye for now

Teresa x