Hoola Tallulah

Magic Feather Horse

2012-01-08T23:34:00.001Z

Well of course I rolled in to wish everyone a Happy New Year late, fashionably late? My new years resolution is to work on my tardiness :)

I spied a Magic Feather Horse during the holidays....

We had to ride on them of course....

Oh, and due to popular demand, I proudly present to you the first scarf I ever knitted. The faux Jack Wills scarf.

Obviously, I did not knit the Faux Jack Wills hat, this is indeed real Jack Wills, because as awesome as I try to be, I am not so awesome that I can learn to knit fairisle, indeed I have baked babie's faster than it has taken to learn to knit and purl, hence I fear fairisle knitting might be some way off, or at least until we can upload new skills into our brains, Matrix style. In which case, I would also learn Ju Jitsu and how to play chess like a bad ass, and maybe waffle making French style.

Wishing you all the very best for 2012 :)

EDIT: The prettyfull brunette is my adorable little sister Sophie, and not me!

Another one under the belt

2011-12-19T23:33:00.000Z

For the longest time I have wanted to learn how to knit. I even did a knitting lesson a year or so ago, it was nice, I knitted and I purled for a couple of hours and dropped a ton of stitches and then came home and felt disabled without a teacher, and work and lack of transport (I still cannot drive) made attending more knitting classes prohibitive, and I never knitted again.

My mother can knit, occasionally she knits half of something, she gets bored fast. When Amber was growing in my belly she started knitting her a pants and cardigan outfit, some 18 months later she finally completed the newborn sized outfit and so it did not fit toddler sized Amber, instead, newborn Hazel wore it for about 3 days, before her legs grew a billion inches (how do babie's do that?) and it didn't fit her either.
So all my life, I have had this marvellous untapped knitting resource in my own mother, but there are plenty of reasons I did not tap it.

For a start, my mother is just not a great teacher. When I was pregnant with Bluebelle and living in rural France I decided I needed to learn to drive. I came back to the UK to do an intensive course, supplemented by lessons from the parents (this was somewhat embarassing given that I was 30 year old woman and not a teen) in the evenings. My dad was great, kinda freaked out but calm all the same, my mother made it about 500 yards down the road with me driving, before yanking at the steering wheel and pulling on the handbreak, all the while screaming that I clearly had a death wish, I actually got out of the car and made her drive me home.

My mother has one way of doing things, her way. There is no other way, and much like she yanked the steering wheel as my learner driver self pootled down the lane at 10mph, anything I have asked her to help me with has resulted in the same "You suck, let me take over" approach and hence, I stopped asking for help. I have spent years wishing I knew how to use a sewing machine, knit, make clothes or curtains and tons of other stuff, but could not face my own mothers infuriating mode of teaching.

She does the same thing with my kids, and I often see them bawl with frustration as she manhandles their art materials and starts doing their homework for them, I smile and remember the pain in the ass that is her teaching methodology, it tickles me to see them feeling the same as I did, it validates the feelings I had as a child, as well as proving my mother is clearly bat shit crazy.
Honestly, I am painting my mother in a poor light, she is a brilliant, loving and generous woman, she just cannot bare to stand by and watch you do something wrong, she has to dive in and take control, hence, a patient teacher she is not.

Anyhoo, when Hazel expressed an interest in knitting, I thought about sending her over to Nan's, felt bad about the potential fury this would likely cause, then sent her anyway.
Hazel came home a ball of rage, but she could knit. Then she discovered a knitting club at school, and started knitting like a girl posessed. There were some crazy Nan teaching moments, like the time she unravelled about 12 inches of Hazel's knitting, despite her hysterical screams, to fix a hole right at the beginning (that was actually kinda bad but not unheard of behaviour, I told you, bat shit crazy!), but Hazel perservered.

And so it came to be, that this thirty something mama of 4, who desperately wanted to knit, learned not from her own mama, but from her daughter, and oh, how wonderful that is! Get your kids to suffer on your behalf, thats some fine parenting on my part, I am sure you will agree.
There are now balls of yarn all over the house and the constant clickety click of needles making, MAKING. Christmas making, no less. Well, scarves, I am not following patterns yet, but boy I am I excited by the possibilities (socks!!!).

There will be many a scarf filling many a christmas stocking this year. Oh Yes.
Also, did you know, that the village I lived in over in France, was the village of the SHEEP, every kind of sheep on my doorstep, with women hand spinning wool and knitting beautiful things, and oh, to be back there.... so many things I took for granted. I am learning not to do that.

Certainly, I am not taking Hazel for granted, as knitting teachers go, she totally rocks. And my mother... I am learning that a patient student is a pretty good pacifier for an impatient teacher, I might even ask her how to crochet, after a stiff drink, maybe.

Art, Science and the bit in between

2011-12-05T22:20:00.002Z

Lately my work time doodling has taken on a splodgy organic direction, I am fascinated with the idea of putting things under the microscope and seeing how they look, and translating those visuals somehow into stitch. Of course I don't have a microscope (I need one), but I draw cells, all colours, organic forms, free flowing, I still don't know what it means.

Then today, I found this....

Not cells, but watermarks....

Ghostly when out of focus...

A veil of cells, of sorts...

On a window...

On a Train.... mother natures paint brush.

I took so many photos, until someone asked me what stop we were at, and I realised, I was supposed to get off the train several stops ago.
But I think it was worth it, I can't stop looking at these photos. So many possibilities. Sometimes the most unexpected things inspire the most, and I am wondering how to translate this on to fabric, in stitch, or, with water? colour? coloured water?

If Moths Could Read....

2011-11-25T22:54:00.000Z

Lots of variations of this being stitched up for lavender sachets, for the women in my life plagued by moths (but not by kids - given the content of the message).

Happy Weekending to you :)

Sew on the Go - Hexie Tutorial

2011-11-23T23:09:00.000Z

I am starting a revolution - at least I am trying!
I spend a lot of time commuting, lots of trains and tubes, the occasional bus, my work takes me all over London. One day's worth of meetings can result in anything up to 3-4 hours train or tube time, that's an awful lot of idle time. I am not good at being idle.

So I started to drag along some sewing, at first I tried embroidery, but changing thread colour and the need for precision proved a bit tricky for bumpy train rides, also you need to carry quite a lot of floss, unless you work in one colour. So instead, I got me some paper hexagons and started making a quilt.

This is the perfect craft for commuting, you can piece by hand with relative ease and it is so portable. I take along a needle, thread, scissors, the paper pieces, the fabric squares, and that's pretty much it, it tucks neatly into my bag and I can whip it out as soon as my butt hits he train seat.

I worked out that between tube stops I can sew one side of a hexagon (to another) so a full days worth of meetings in London can yield at least one double ring Hexagon flower, I need 40 of these, so far I have 11, all completed on the commute in the last few weeks.

I get a lot of strange looks from other travellers, and occasionally someone breaks the London rule (don't talk to fellow commuters) and asks me what I am doing. I think I have converted at least 3 people to my Sew on the Go idea, who knows?
It seems like such a great use of otherwise idle time. I have seen one person knitting, but never anyone sewing. Am I alone? Does anyone else Sew on the Go?
The craft industry is the fastest growing industry in the UK, with millions, yes MILLIONS, of women turning their attentions to creating for fun, especially quilting. Surely I am not alone in my crafty commuting endevours?

Will you join me?

Here is how I make the hexies...

First you need to get some paper pieces, you can cut these from scrap paper yourself. I couldn't face trying to precisely cut hundreds of paper hexies, so I bought mine on ebay, you can also buy them here.

You will need to cut fabric squares approx 1" larger than your paper pieces. I am working with 2" hexies and my fabric squares are 3", the fabric need not be cut precisely (only the paper pieces). I do not cut mine into hexagons, I just go right ahead and fold them around my template. This will mean bulkier seams, and I am not sure yet how this will impact the quilting part (being as I haven't got that far), but a whole lot of people seem to be doing it this way, so I am following suit.

Armed with your paper hexies and fabric squares, grab a needle and thread, and fold and baste the fabric to the paper pieces, like so....

Finger pressing thn gently around the edges of your hexagons is super easy, I fold a side then baste before folding the next side and continuing to baste.

Once you have basted them, they will look like this...

Once you have a pile of these, you can start stitching them together. You can stitch them randomly to make a charm quilt, or you can use a pattern like the (free) one I am using here.
To attach them to one another, hold them right sides together and whip stitch them at the edges, the stitches need to be small and close together, so as not to catch the paper (this part is easier than you think), but not necessarily super neat.

Think about what colour thread you use, as sometimes you can see the little stitches to the front (only a little).
It will look like this on the back...

Once you have stitched the hexies together, you can unpick the basting stitches and re-use the paper pieces if you need to, the tiny needle holes don't damage them a whole lot, my paper pieces are on their fourth round and still doing fine, though they will eventually be too tatty to use again.

Prepare to be super addicted, and if you decide to Sew on the Go, don't forget to post your photos to the Flickr Group I set up, you can post any crafty commuting endevours in this group, including knitting! I might get some Sew on the Go stickers printed up with which to adorn myself during said crafty commutes, so if you see a suited blonde woman, madly stitching and clad head to toe in stickers with this logo, then do say hello :)

If there is anything I have missed, or you have any questions or perhaps some nuggets of golden wisdom to add, please do leave a comment :)

Sweet Treats

2011-11-10T22:36:00.000Z

I am trying to be a litle more organised with Christmas this year, I have bought most all of the childrens presents, and will be adding a few handmades (by me) and a few from Etsy.

Here are some of my favourite Etsy finds...

1.Monda Loves
2.Soho Mode
3.Vaivanat
4.Wild Things Dresses
5.Slightly Triangle
6.Peaqo
7.Baby Cricket
8.Lily Moon
9.Little Miss Loolies
10.Verkligheten
11.Worthy Goods
12.Adatine

I am especially loving the fox bandits, I want a whole gang of these!

I will be back soon with a hexie tutorial, yay :)

The Magical Hexie Tree

2011-11-05T14:26:00.001Z

No apples on the tree this year, just late blooming hexie flowers...

and it's time to pick some autumn hexie berries too...

Ahh sweet colour. The fabric is Jennifer Paganellis Honey Child, I am completely in love with these prints.

The box travels with me, sew on the go, the perfect craft for the regular train and tube journeys into the big smoke.
Do you commute regularly? Then English Paper piecing is the perfect past time for you! I might do a wee tutorial here soon, if anyone is interested?

Happy weekending to you :)

Scrapplique

2011-11-02T21:52:00.000Z

What to do with little fabric pieces? I mean the really little pieces, less than 1", I keep them all, I can't help it. Those little scraps of colourful joy, scraps from the childrens projects, old bedding, scraps of family, scraps of life.
I looked for projects online, but there isn't alot you can do with very tiny scraps, so I stitched them down, on slightly bigger scraps.

It became quite addictive, a simple kantha stitch, rainbow arteries connecting cloth to cloth, to create new colour and new cloth. I have a pile of these "new" cloths, and I will keep adding to the pile, and maybe one day I will connect those too, and have one big cloth, who knows? There is no plan, the only plan is to keep stitching. I call it scrapplique, it seems fitting, raw edges, no fancy pants precision, just cloth on cloth.

Some of them are gifts, yet to be gifted.

The base cloths are all hand dyed with tea and tumeric, and mostly cut from my old linen maternity pants. I guess those pants were pretty big, I seem to have an awful lot of that cloth.

Scraptacular

2011-10-30T16:01:00.001Z

Finally, after many months of cutting and piecing, cutting and piecing....

I have a quilt top!

I am super nervous about quilting and binding it (this being my first quilt and all).
Note to self....

You can find the pattern (yes there is a pattern - as higgledy piggledy as it is) HERE.

Every little scrap counts

2011-10-28T14:24:00.000+01:00

Things to do on an Autumn day

2011-10-23T19:25:00.000+01:00

Head Outside....

Find an oak tree....

Collect some acorn cups, yes, just the cups!

Roll some felt balls...

and pop them in the cups!
We have these hanging all over the house, and boy do kids like to make felt balls.
If you have a minute, collect some sticks too, any sticks will do, and voila, no plastic bobbins required.

To Make Felt Acorns, you will need:

100g of roving wool (any colours)
Acorn Cups
PVA glue
Soap
Water
Lots of little hands

1/ Pull the wool apart and gather a small amount, roll it gently between your palms until it forms a loose ball.
2/ Dip the ball in warm water and gently squeeze off the excess, then add a tiny bit of soap to the palm of your hand, and roll, and roll and roll. Gently at first, you will see the soapy felt ball coming together nicely, as it gets firmer you can apply a little more pressure to your rolling.
3/ Set the balls aside to dry. Once dry, paint a little PVA glue to one end and push into the acorn cup, leave to dry.
4/ Dangle them hither and thither from every hook and cranny, make a sweet garland or attach little paper labels to make perfectly prettyfull name settings (we like this one best - a perfect Sunday Dinner special).

To Make the bobbins, take one stick, some floss, and wind.... easy peasy.

Reconnecting

2011-10-18T09:50:00.000+01:00

Oh my! It has been a while... is anyone still here?

I have been tentatively thinking about returning to my wee blog for a while, for despite the lack of blog posts the crafting has continued, and life too, as it does. So I have much to share over the coming weeks.
I got a little bogged down with projects and swaps before. I have decided I am a terrible swapper and will not be partaking in anymore swaps, my life is simply too topsy turvey to be committing to such endevours, as I invariably end up flaking out and letting someone down.

Also, I realised that though I have been "making" for sometime, so few of the things I have made stay with me. So I am focussing right now on finishing up a swap I am very late with and completing a couple of gifts that will be flying to their new homes soon.
Moving forward, I am working on much slower projects, projects with no deadline (for the most part), so I can enjoy the process of making, no rush, just taking my time. I feel quite relieved now that I have made this decision and slowed down. Life is full of deadlines, I think that creating should be seperate from that, at least for now.

Anyways, my blog looks a little different and for this I must thank the very lovely Clare Owen who kindly designed my new banner and buttons, aren't they sweet? I am delighted with the result of her handiwork, what a talented bunny she is! You can see more of her work here and she sells her lovely artwork HERE.

I haven't picked up my camera since my last blog post, so the summer was missed, via the lens at least. I am marvelling at the fresh burst of colour that Autumn has brought, nature is clever that way, just as the weather turns and the chill in the air forces us to pull on extra layers, nature turns with a brilliant show of warm hues, cosy oranges and deep reds, crisp leaves turned brown, dancing in the wind, the last dance, before winter.

I am enjoying Autumn this year, normally I grieve for Spring and Summer, this time I am embracing it. I am liking leaves right now, alot.

I feel better and more alive, the rest was good, it's good to be back.

TaTa for Now

2011-08-09T16:09:00.000+01:00

Life has been totally upside down crazy for us lately, and on that note, I am going to be taking a blog break. I may or may not return.

Thank you all for the support and for the amazing friendship many of you have extended to me.

Big love and Best Wishes to you All XxXxX

Grandad Bob 12th September 1926 - 14th June 2011

2011-06-14T12:19:00.000+01:00

When I was 18, I discovered you were not my biological grandfather.

It would be easy to imagine that I might have felt upset, or sad. In fact, I felt nothing but gratitude. Gratitude for the knowing and understanding that blood isn't always thicker than water. Gratitude for having learned that under whatever circumstances you came to be my grandfather, you had never treated me any different from my cousins, that you had loved me whoeheartedly.

For the last 32 years I have felt cherished and adored by you, not a day has passed that you have not called, written me a letter, sent packages of sweets for the children, sleepsuits for the baby or your favourite - random useful gifts, wooden spoons and clothes pegs, a tube of No Nails or whatever random object you deemed I may need. I have always felt touched by the throughtfulness you have shown, those small gifts meant so much to me.

My life has been so much richer for you having been a part of it. My childhood is peppered with sweet memories of our time together, I will never forget all that you were and all that you mean to me, all that you had done and all that you gave. All that I have learned from your wisdom and that which I have yet to learn from your passing.

Whilst I feel desperately sad in you leaving us, I am grateful that you got your wish, that you are no longer in pain and can join Nana Ann, finally, it's what you wanted.
Your final words to me will forever resound in my ears like a beating heart, I am so glad we had that chance, and that you left me with those sweet words for all eternity.

Thank you for the gift of love, for showing me that our hearts can weigh heavy with the same joy and affection normally reserved for those born from our own. You were everything a grandad could be, to me you were perfect.

Loving you forever XxX

Brit Quilt Swap & Temporary Drunkeness

2011-05-22T22:49:00.000+01:00

I am back from my blogging hiatus, phew!
What a crazy couple of weeks it has been!
Between work, my army of children and a boozy weekend away with the girls (more about that soon) there has been very little time for creative stuffs

It seems somewhat inappropiate that the first photo of myself to be featured on my blog is one in which I am completely hammered, but never mind that.

I have been working on my woven cloth here and there, the scrappy quilt is taking shape and I rather naively joined The Brit Quilt Swap - The old phrase 'To bite off more than one can chew' springs to mind. I am feeling quite overwhelmed by this new project, being as my entire experience of quilt making lies in several wonky donkey blocks that are yet to be stitched together and quilted.

There seems to be so much to learn about this quilting lark and I am trying desperately to educate myself sufficiently to be able to complete one of the damn things. The mere thought of mitred corners makes me feel nauseous. Apparently there is a special tool for this but I took one look at it and made no sense of how you are supposed to use it.

I have made a start by planning (somewhat haphazardly) a design and the fabric line up. This was made so much easier by the recent arrival of a stack of Jennifer Paganelli's Honey Child Fabric (oh joy!) and a bundle of 12 Kona solids which I won in Katy's Blog giveaway (thank you so much!)

So... back to the sewing table I go... see you soon :)

A Bag for Boo

2011-05-03T22:18:00.000+01:00

Boo moved up to the big girl class at Nursery today, and owing to some bizarre no backpack rule, a drawstring bag was required instead, and so a drawstring bag I did make.

I found an embroidered panel buried in my UFO pile, and as I had some red polka dot fabric kicking around, it was the perfect quick fix for a little bag for my little Boo. It took me a while to find the original blog post, it turns out this embroidery has been hanging around for four years!

Miss Boo is most pleased with her little bag, which will hold her blanket - or at least one of the remaining chopped up bits of her blanket, her dodo (otherwise known as a pacifier) and a change of clothes.

Apologies for the poor photos, I had to take them at night and the flash is never kind to me.

The Best Royal Wedding Photo

2011-04-30T09:45:00.000+01:00

Ah wasn't it grand? I loved seeing London decked out in all it's glory. It was lovely to see Westminster in Royal Party mode, it is such a busy place that more often than not, when passing through, you forget to appreciate the architectural grandeur, such a beautiful city we have, I felt very proud to be British yesterday!

Whilst Kate's dress was divine, Williams bungled attempts to place the ring on kate's finger made us chuckle and the Queen remained predictably stoic, the biggest laugh was by far this little monkey....

Ah, a photo speaks a thousand words. What a perfect shot, I expect this little girl will be showing that photo to her grandchildren one day, and chuckling at the joy of it all.

Now, someone really ought to kindly point Eugenie and Beatrice in the direction of a decent stylist, how do these two always manage to get it SO wrong?

It's Growing.....

2011-04-29T16:11:00.000+01:00

I'm finding this scrappy patchwork somewhat addictive!
Thank you for all your well wishes, I am back on my feet and working like a dog again.

I am SO excited about my scrappy quilt and cannot stop thinking about it, more soon...

One block later...

2011-04-22T09:03:00.000+01:00

I did come home that night and complete another block, I stumbled to bed at around midnight and complained of feeling dizzy, I thought it was the tiredness, but the next morning I had a raging temperature, swollen glands and pounding headache. I slept for 24 hours straight, and this morning I only got out of bed because my body aches too much from lying down for so long.

So now I am toiling with the guilt of not being at work (knowing Simon and my colleagues will take the brunt of my workload), that my mum is looking after the kids - who are off school for Easter. Ambear has stayed home with me to be my nurse, bless. It's nice her and I have some together time, we don't often get that, my sweet eldest and I.

So here is my block... extremely wonky.

I may be absent from this space for a couple of days whilst I mend. Wishing you all a most wonderful Easter <3

Time

2011-04-20T09:38:00.002+01:00

In my world, there are simply not enough hours in the day right now.
Time rolls forward relentlessly at such a pace I can barely catch my breath. I work an average 80 hours a week, as does Simon, and so it goes on, and on, and on.
There is of course some point to all this madness, but that point is not to be laboured upon here, for frankly, it is simply too long winded and perhaps not all that interesting to most folk.

When time is short, it is precious, and precious things ought to be treated with the utmost consideration and valued for all they are worth. Time is indeed precious to us right now, as a family, as a couple, as individuals. Time together and time alone. It is the time alone that Simon and I struggle to find the most. When we are not working in the literal earning money sense, we are working as a family, caring for our home and brood and trying to enjoy quality family time. There is just not much left over at the end of it all for alone time.

All that said, I am learning that it is amazing how much one can achieve when time is against you. How much you can pack into a few hours or minutes. I am learning what is really important and what is quite insignificant.
Each week I am hit by a great wall of tiredness, each week it is greater than the last and just when you think, surely it cannot get any worse, it does, and yet we carry on, of course we must.

Winston Churchill said 'When you're going through hell, keep going' and really what choice do we have? You learn how strong you are when you are required to show strength. I realise I am rambling now, the end point is this. The more tired I become the more alive and capable I feel.
The less time I have the more I seek to find and eek out minutes here or there. In short, I am incredibly productive right now (by my own standards at least) and in some perverse way I actually relish the challenge of dragging my sorry arse out of bed each morning and telling myself that 'Today I am going to give a little bit more', I have to, and I do.
I have momentary lapses and minor meltdowns, sometimes I just head outside for a breath of fresh air and a sob, but carry on we must, and we do, Winston Churchill was a wise old bastard, wasn't he?

I came home last night at close to 10pm. I have felt a rising sense of frustration in recent weeks over the lack of me time, specifically time to create. I try and do a little each day, but as the great wall of tiredness has become greater, I have created less and less. Last night I came home and told tiredness to get bent. I came home and set up the sewing machine and silently began sewing bundles and bundles of strips. My time, precious time, I'll take it whenever I can. Sometimes sleep is overated.

So, I made a start on the Scraptacular Quilt, a good start, and then I slept like I have never slept before. Cried like a baby when the alarm clock rang out, and got up and did it all over again. Tonight, I am sewing some more, tomorrow I will cry like a baby again when the alarm goes off, and so it goes on... It's all good though, when your head hits the pillow and you mentally tick off the To Do lists and creep a little bit closer to the end goal, all the while enjoying the little victories against time, it feels oh so good.
When this madness is over, I will never take time for granted again. Oh no.

Ambear's Cheesey Biscuits

2011-04-19T10:09:00.000+01:00

My big girl was baking up a storm in the kitchen this weekend. She made these cheesey biscuits from The Great Big Glorious Book for Girls - now I must say, if you have a daughter or sweet little friend aged 7-11 then I would highly recommend this book. Ambear has had it a few years now, it is battered and falling apart but she comes back to it again and again. It is filled with projects, recipes and other secret girl stuff!

Anyhow, back to the biscuits. These were super easy, an ideal recipe for kids to tackle alone with little supervision. They were very tasty and Ambear was most pleased to note that by the end of the day there was nothing left on the biscuit plate except crumbs, a true indication of success me thinks!

You will need:
100g (7/8 cup) Cheddar Cheese grated - we used extra mature because we like strong cheese
100g (4/5 cup) Self raising flour
120ml (1/2 cup) Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4/350ºF
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mash with a fork
Flour your hands and surface and press the mixture out until it is about 1" thick
Cut into rounds or shape of your choosing
Place on an oiled baking sheet and bake for 8-10 mins until golden brown

We had to add a little extra olive oil as it was a little too dry and crumbly to shape, I think plain flour might yield a more crunchy biscuit, so we will try that next time.

Ambear has also been busy making lots of sweet little things from Polymer Clay, she is like a child possessed and has turned out oodles of teeny tiny dolls accessories and pretty charms. These dinky little cupcakes are my favourite, isn't she brilliant?

Sometimes Smiles are Overated

2011-04-18T10:51:00.000+01:00

These photos were taken only seconds apart, such is the changeable moods of my boy!

5 Riotous Successes of the Week

2011-04-17T00:23:00.000+01:00

Finally put away the Great Wall of Washing (much bigger than China's)
Made a start on a birthday gift for the Hoozel's friend (inspiration collage below)
Made a start on the mending pile, stitched up holes in crotch of 2 pairs of pyjamas (why are holes always in crotch area, should I be worried?
Completed one item from Crafty To Do list, woop!
Blogged ALMOST every day!

All of the items above are from my crafty stash. The little dress to the right is a Blythe dress and the London Bus is an embroidered reverse applique I made a couple of years ago.

What good stuffs did you do this week?

Music to My Ears

2011-04-16T16:32:00.000+01:00

I have been working on my Crafty To Do list and trying to cross off those UFO's.
This little embroidery has been kicking around for almost FOUR years, but now it is complete!

The pattern is from a Japanese sewing magazine, I picked out my own vibrant colours. I have no idea what I will use this for, am thinking a cushion for Boo or Bear.

The cows have returned to the farm at River Cottage for spring and summer. I rather hoped to get some nice close up shots of them, as there are many a wee calf and they are so sweet, trotting to and fro and chasing birdies, quite playful. Alas, they were over the other side of the field today, but I will try again tomorrow.

I leave you with a few shots of the spring landscape around River Cottage and some prettyfull flowers that are in bloom in our garden, including the apple blossom, finally!

A very merry weekend to you!

* Vintage Scrap Quilt
* OMG WTF Banner
* Woven Cloth
* Toiletry bags for Amber and Hazel (started in 2008)
* Christmas Tree Fairy (started in 2008)
* Patchwork Curtain Tie Backs
* Secret project for a special friend 1
* Secret Project for a special friend 2
* Secret project for a special friend 3
* 4 cushion/pillow covers (deadline mid May)
* Elephant bag from Wee Wonderfuls book
* Embroidery (started in 2008)

Button Button Who's Got The Button

2011-04-15T10:57:00.000+01:00

If you love everything stitchy, whether it be collage, clothes making, softies and what not, then you will surely love a good button. Red buttons, blue buttons, old buttons, new buttons, buttons are lovely aren't they?
I am a button fiend, I collect them from here, there and everywhere, and I love digging through the button tin to find the perfect button for my project.

I recently stumbled upon the mother of all buttons, from the most perfect button maker. Indeed, a BUTTON MAKER, imagine being able to introduce yourself as a Button Maker 'Hello my name is Tallulah and I am a Button Maker', how wonderful! Anyways, I am not a button maker of course, but Laura Walker is, oh yes.
This incredible artist not only creates the most wonderful buttons, but she also uses them to dazzling effect.

Who would have thought such a beautiful array of buttons could transform an otherwise simple dress?

Laura's buttons are created from ceramics, each intricately formed, in an array of prettyfull hues, there's eye popping red and sweet baby blue's, as well as a lovely selection of neutral colours with delicate patterns.

Indeed, I dare say, there is a button to suit all in Miss Laura's Etsy shop, Veronica Buttons.

There are also pretty ceramic tags....

She also embroiders and creates one of a kind art pieces unlike anything I have ever seen before...

Indeed, a button maker after my own heart. Do pop along to her (not so often updated but charming all the same) Blog and say a cheery hello. Laura also posts photos of her work on Flickr, and you can find out more about her buttons and what not at her very own Website.

Tackling the Mending Pile

2011-04-14T10:08:00.000+01:00

The mending pile has grown in recent weeks, so I have been diligently working my way through it.
It is an ever growing task in the Hoola household, on account of 1/ A rather vicious washing machine that is prone to shredding bed linen on occasion and 2/ Our wayward dog Pip who likes to chew ears, eyes and other bodily parts off soft toys.

I settled down at the dining table and set about my tasks. First an old Ikea duvet cover, which for some reason unbeknownst to me never had any fastenings for the opening, resulting in the duvet spilling out each night and thus requiring much stuffing back in each morning, irritating to say the least.
Said duvet cover got the scrap treatment with a variety of pretty fabric ties, and some recently thrifted pillows which were kicking around were treated to a pretty purple crochet trim.

The savaged soft toy pile was attacked with needle and thread.
Boo's rag dolls got new eyes and one leg sewn back on.

Mr Penguin got a new eye patch to cover the gaping hole in his head where Pip had mercilessly attacked him.

Mr Owl has sat atop the mending pile for some time, blind in both eyes following a particulary violent dog attack. He received new eyes made of felt and vintage buttons, and new feet made of felt.

Ambear joined in the fun and made a nifty little felt dress for one of her wee bears (she has a thing about bears).

All in all, a productive mending session was had by all, well Ambear and I at least. Rag dolls were quickly returned to the Boo who promptly set about picking at their new eyes with a plastic fork (le sigh) and the soft toys were placed safely back on the shelf in Ambear's room, out of reach of Pip the Destroyer, and with renewed joy at being able to survey the appaling mess of an 11 year olds bedroom once more, my what a view they have.

What is in your mending pile?

Looking a little bit closer

2011-04-13T11:20:00.001+01:00

When the sun is shining, we all troop outside and bask in the glory of Spring, and being bang smack in the middle of a working farm means there is always plenty to see and do.

It is easy to take your surroundings for granted. After all, when the eyes casts themselves upon the same thing each day, that element of joyful surprise is lost, and sometimes the eyes simply do not see what is right there.

With this in mind, I took a stroll around the land and farm at River Cottage with camera in hand. Zooming out and zooming in, looking at my daily views with fresh eyes and a new perspective.
Heres what I found....

Farms are a wonderful source of rust and decay, which close up makes for wonderful and inspiring pattern ideas and neutral colour ways....

Little ones and cheeky smiles are always to be found when the camera is in action...

What can you see when you look a little closer?

Crafty To Do's

2011-04-11T22:55:00.001+01:00

I realised just the other day, that I am a perpetual project starter and unfinnisher. I'm not entirely sure that unfinnisher is really the right (or even existant) word, but anyway, you know what I mean. I start things, and don't finnish them. Rather alot, actually. Too much, infact.

Anyhow, this is bad practice I think. Being a busy, working mama to 4, my To Do list is never ending, and I have quite unwittingly created a crafty To Do list to add further weight to my unending sense of being behind. In an attempt to work through it and tie up the loose ends of my stitchy ways, I am committing them to paper and blog, so I can keep track and encourage progress. I was most dismayed to find, upon counting said unfinnished projects, that it is um, quite lengthy.

* Vintage Scrap Quilt
* OMG WTF Banner
* Woven Cloth
* Toiletry bags for Amber and Hazel (started in 2008)
* Christmas Tree Fairy (started in 2008)
* Patchwork Curtain Tie Backs
* Secret project for a special friend 1
* Secret Project for a special friend 2
* Secret project for a special friend 3
* 4 cushion/pillow covers (deadline mid May)
* Elephant bag from Wee Wonderfuls book
* Embroidery (started in 2008)

Now, this list does not include the mending pile, which is another post all together.
So, I concluded I must make a pact with myself to not begin any new projects, until the above list is crossed off.

Then I stumbled upon THIS and I thought I would have a little dig through the scrap bag to see what possibilities might present themselves, and those colourful wee fabric scraps, they were singing to me! Oh yes! All those lovely colours and prints, a wee bit of the fabric from Amber's cushion and scraps from long since made Dotee dolls and what not's, and well those scraps conjure memories, good times and gifts and love and joyful happy happy things.

Such is my willpower, that despite their pleasant song, I said NO to the scraps. Oh I did, I even crossed my arms just so, so that they knew I meant business. I said NO! to them damn it, but they wouldn't listen! Quite before I knew what was happening I was wielding the rotary cutter like a woman posessed and the pile of little rectangles grew, and grew.

Sigh, and so too did the list, by just one more, but rather long winded (I think) project.

* Scraptastic quilt

Have I mentioned that I have never even actually made a quilt? That my entire experience of quilt making consists of the cutting and stitching together of a few paltry strips (which as per the list above remain as such). I am clearly drawn to this quilt making lark, I just need to work out how to find more time to actually make one, and the other stuff, all of it.

For more scrappy scrumptiousness, you should also take a peek at THIS.

Monda Rocks

2011-04-05T22:53:00.005+01:00

Gosh, it is busy around the Hoola household these days. I have been toing and froing over work and home, in my haste to cross errands off the never ending To Do list I quite overlooked a most important addition. You see, I ought to have told you already, that my very sweet blog friend Miss Monda is a most talented surface designer, oh yes.
Indeed, she is has partaken in the Spoonflower Project Selvage contest and made it right on into the semi finals with her delightful design titled "Flippers and Kippers", so cute!

Anyways, if as I do, you think that this is quite the most adorable little boys fabric, then do pop along and leave Monda your VOTE, and do hurry as voting is closing on Thursday!

You can see more of her beautiful designs over on her BLOG (where she also features crafty tales of stitchery and most recently, her perfect handmade English wedding).

As if that were not enough spectacularity from one woman (multi talented you see), she also makes super sweet bits and bobs like this....

Which you can find in her lovely Etsy store HERE, pink puss cats with polka dot bows, oh my.

Oh, and some more Monda patterns to tickle your fancy...

Anyhoo, you must excuse me, so much to do, to do, to do...

~~Write about Magnificent Monda on my blog~~

Spring is Springing

2011-03-23T13:52:00.000Z

Oh blessed spring! The weather is getting milder every day and we are loving all the blue sky days and the opportunities to frolick outside.

Work is still chaotic, so little time for creative stuffs, but I am on it, slowly but surely, and will report more here soon.

In the meantime, my baby Bear is enjoying his naps in the sun...

And above, the reason our house is called River Cottage! A most perfect place to lounge at sun down.

Happy Birthday To Me :)

2011-03-21T22:32:00.000Z

It was my birthday yesterday, the first day of spring, and more importantly, the first day we have had together as a family in, oh, much too long. Simon and I usually work alternate late shifts and Saturday/Sunday, so yesterday was a rare and precious treat.

The sun was out (mostly) and a lovely day was had by all, we spent an awful lot of it outside, oh how sweet to finally be able to play outside! The cherry on the proverbial cake was indeed, the warm breeze that allowed me to hang out the washing for the first time at River Cottage.

A Birthday cake was baked by Nana - with s eggs no less, a double celebration after all!

Even the daffodils were bobbing their sunny heads at the joy of it all.

The land around us is changing now, we are really looking forward to our first summer at River Cottage. It was a very happy birthday indeed :)

Word Play

2011-03-12T20:59:00.001Z

Well my cloth is coming along nicely, I have spent the last few evenings stitching the quote that I wanted to include. I used purple metallic gutermann thread, which is not easy to embroider with and text is quite boring to stitch too, so it took a while.

Here is a photo of how the cloth looks as a whole, there is still much work to be done but I am really pleased with how it is coming together, it makes me smile :)
More silver leaves need to be included, the tree trunk to the right needs to be stitched in (I am rather anxious about doing that, it is a big area of stitching to cover!) and the leaves to the top left need more branches and lots of more leaves.

The background is also due some special treatment.... not sure what yet, more white stitching to give texture to the cloth and secure the weaving for sure, and perhaps more... I like that this part of the story has not unfolded to me yet. Oh yes, there is still much to be done and much to learn.
You can view a full size photo of the cloth here.

Happy Weekend to you! <3

Blog Love - Aventures Textiles

2011-03-08T22:31:00.000Z

Before I went on a blogging hiatus a couple of years ago, I used to feature lovely blogs I found every now and then.
Well, I haven't done that for a while, but yesterday I stumbled upon the most delightful blog and I just have to share it with you.

Cécile Meraglia is an incredibly talented and inspiring textile artist, and documents her work on her blog Aventures Textiles .
Now, I realise most of my lovely readers will not speak French, but there is a handy dandy translation tool on Cécile's blog, and honestly, the photos of her beautiful work speak for themselves. I had a little rush of excitement when I stumbled upon her Flickr photo stream, her work is pure eye candy.

Do pop over to her lovely Blog and say hello, you can also find her on Flickr.

Hey Doodle Doodle

2011-03-07T17:19:00.000Z

I brought a whole load of stuffs back from France with me after the burglary, I have been enjoying looking through all my stuff that I haven't seen a while, over the weekend I found an old doodle journal. The first two drawings are from last year, before we left France, they both tickled me pink because I remember drawing them both.

Amber really did pull Hazel's tights down (I believe they are panty hose in the US?). Needless to say, Hazel was none too impressed that I chose to record her moment of shame in doodle form, bless. The little circular window on the door is representative of the boat we were travelling from on a trip from France to the UK.

The second is a doodle of a very odd dream I had about Danni Minogue, I still can't work out where the paragraph begins and where it ends and my memory does not serve me well on this ocassion, so who knows what on earth that was all about! Something in there about Bingo, I don't think I have ever played bingo, maybe I should! (It is on my flickr if you care to enlarge the pic and try and read it, good luck!).

The last doodle is a more recent addition (14th of Feb 2011), I did this at work after we closed a particularly big deal, It was a good day! I'm glad the good days are more plentiful than the bad right now, the doodles continue....

A Bientot :)

By The Bluegrass Giveaway

2011-03-06T09:29:00.002Z

My lovely friend Sena from By The Bluegrass is having a most awesome Giveaway, lots of yummity loveliness up for grabs, so do pop by and say Hello for a chance to win!

I have also added my blog to Blog Lovin, come follow me :)
Follow my blog with bloglovin

The light at the end of the tunnel

2011-03-05T21:19:00.000Z

I was stitching away the other night, when I suddenly realised how quickly I had completed a little corner of my cloth, and it suddenly dawned on me that I no longer laboured over each stitch. I can talk, watch tv, sing along to the radio and stitch and stitch, without hindrance. I stitch so fast, my fingers are on fire.

This is quite an important realisation. You might remember me recently writing about one of the horrible symptoms of PND being a lack of concentration, which made hand sewing very laborious indeed. The more I thought about this change, the more I realised most all of my symptoms have all but gone. When did that happen? I just don't know, I guess it is a gradual process. Just as PND creeps up on you like a slow rising tide, so too does it creep away, and before you know it, you are no longer stranded.

I decided to celebrate by making myself a nice cuppa and getting down to some more stitching, and being as I had no champagne, I took a leaf out of my colleagues book and chowed down on some fizzy cola bottles, not a bad stand in, I must say.

Anyhow, I think I can safely say (touching wood here), I have come through the worst of it, and feel very much back to myself, in fact, probably much improved, they do say, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, after all. Not sure how much truth there is in that, but I like to think a grain or two. It has certainly been a challenging time and it feels good to be able to once again draw on my inner reserves and find they are topped up and serving me well.

On a final note, I did not speak too candidly about PND here. It is a dark and quite frightening subject that is somewhat taboo. So very few women even admit to suffering from it, let alone discussing it honestly. Most women with PND feel deep shame and worry about being judged, and people DO judge, they judge because they do not understand.
So, with that in mind, take a minute to read this and this. If you have any loved ones who are pregnant or have little ones, whilst a web page of text will only give you a glimpse into the reality of PND, it might at the very least prepare you to show some compassion an humility to anyone suffering from this horrid illness.

I dedicate this post to mothers everywhere, those who have suffered, are suffering or supporting their own loved ones through PND, and those mothers who have managed to hold on to their hats too. Mothering brings us great joy, but golly is it a difficult job sometimes. So heres to you all, mum's everywhere, I salute you!

Also, big love and thanks to those close to me, who have propped me up with their relentless support, understanding, kindness and love, you know who you are, I love you always <3

Lovely people

2011-03-01T21:07:00.001Z

Lovely lovely blog friends, you are so sweet, thank you so for your supportive words and good wishes! It certainly lifted my spirits to know there are so many kind souls in this big world holding me in their thoughts right now.

The whole burglary debacle was quite horrible, finding ones entire life's belongings (or at least what is left of them) tipped on the floor is quite a sight, and not one I wish to remember. It took four days to pick up the pieces.
That said, it was lovely to return to France and visit some very dear friends. We ate, we laughed, they cheered me very much and rallied round en masse to help list all the missing items and deal with the Gendarme.
I drank rather a lot of homemade Sloe Gin and rather too much Eau de vie, the rip your head off after one sip kind of apperatif that I generally avoid, but as they say, when in Rome.... or France, as it were.

So, I returned to England with my heart a lot less heavy and with a good deal of our family treasures (thankfully not treasure in the eyes of nasty burglars).
After a tiring 16 hour journey, I arrived back home to find the most prettyfull parcel of loveliness to greet me, all the way from Australia no less.

These treats are from my very sweet friend Dot, what perfect timing Miss Dot, you are such a peach!
I am bowled over by her darling collage birdie, which I have adopted as a kind of good luck charm and have thus been carrying to and fro from home to office each day. Oh yes, this little birdie is so far very well travelled, never mind that it has come all the way from sunny Aus, it now looks over me as I set about my daily tasks. Whilst I sleep, it sits soundly in the dining room waiting for my little family to troop down to breakfast, where it greets us with all it's vibrant, twinkly cheer! I do love this birdie so, Thank you SO much Dot!

Miss Dot also included a delicious stash of colourful fabrics, a postcard featuring one of her collages and oh my, that trim, I am so in love with the leafy trim, I have a thing about leaves at the moment....

This is the third oh so sweet, and all together kind, gift I have received from lovely blog friends, in as many months. I am so moved by the kindness this community has shown me, you all rock so hard!
Alas, my crafty little hands have been working overtime to prepare wee treats to send out, seeking little treasures here and there, stashing them away until the packages of pretty things are just so.

I have also been sneaking a few minutes each day to stitch my woven cloth, progress is slow on account of sheer lack of any real time to dedicate to this project right now, but those few minutes each evening feel so good, so indulgent and very satisfying.

The wee caterpillar has appeared in his rightful place.....

and the prettyfull butterfly has been dancing amongst some newly added flowers (some not yet stitched down), as butterflies do...

I do love the colours in this cloth, I love the story, I love everything it means to me right now, a journey of sorts, and a jolly nice one at that.
Big love to you all, and thank you again for being such perfectly awesome and wonderful blog friends! <3

Dear Burglars

2011-02-22T16:02:00.000Z

Sitting amongst the piles of rejected belongings, in the midst of the disaster zone I once called home, I cannot help but wonder what ever happened to someone like yourself to reduce you to such disgusting means of supporting yourself and your family. As I stare at the empty space in the hearth, where our wood burner once stood, I can only assume you must have been quite desperate to painstakingly dismantle it and remove it at your leisure, whilst consuming our wine and sifting through our family photos. I find some solace in the idea that perhaps our wood burner, which was stood useless in our empty home, is at least keeping some impoverished children warm tonight, but really, it is little consolation.

I expect too that you took the small guitar which my daughter learned her first chords on, to satisfy a yearning for such an instrument in one of your own children. Certainly it is of no financial worth to you. As a parent who works ridiculously hard to support my family, I can sympathise with anyone who struggles to provide for their own. The difference is, when I am broke and can’t buy the things my children need or want, I work a little bit harder and smarter, instead of resorting to breaking, entering and thieving.

The thing I simply do not understand about burglary is the sheer devastation you insist on leaving behind. It is upsetting to say the least to find that valuable electrical goods, jewellery, clothing and other physical goods have been stolen, but was it really necessary to piss on my children’s toys? Toss my family photos aside and brutally remove my grandmothers ashes from their resting place?

When we bought our house in France, it was the first place in my entire life I ever had the luxury of calling home. It was my dream, my haven, my sanctuary. My peace, my security and contained within those walls was a family home built with love and care. The last time we saw it, our coats hung silently by the door and our books rested upon their shelves, just so. It looked as though we had simply popped out to buy some milk and might return at any moment. Leaving that day was perhaps one of the hardest things we ever had to do, but I left with a song in my heart and a hope in my step that we would soon return and pick up where we left off, that once more we would gather around the dinner table and celebrate. I imagined we would open the front door, light a fire, make tea and simply carry on as though we had never left.

When I got the call at work, about your antics, my reaction was so severe my colleagues believed that someone must have died. It may sound dramatic, but in a way, they were right. I have spent the last 12 months trying to laugh in the face of adversity, smile through the stress and upheaval of every single one of life’s blows. Countless times I have declared that, surely, things cannot get any worse, but they do. You have destroyed my home and you have stolen more than a washing machine and some bicycles, the physical goods you will undoubtedly use or sell on matter not, you sucked the spirit out of my home that day and a part of me died with it.

Today I begin the unpleasant task of sifting through the debris to salvage what I can of my family’s belongings. It seems like an overwhelming task, I have literally never witnessed anything like it in my life. You have violated my family, my home, my privacy and above all else, you have robbed us of our security.
The worst part is, you are someone we know. Someone we must have trusted. Someone who knew with perfect accuracy how to enter our home, someone who knew not to bother taking the flat screen TV and X Box because they are broken - because really, what burglar checks out the working order of electrical goods before piling them into his swag bag? With no electricity to aid them in doing such a thing even if they wanted to. Oh you know us alright.

Perhaps one day I will happen upon you in the street wearing Simon’s watch and coat and your wife clad in my designer dress, decorated with the gaudy rhinestone jewels my grandmother left to my daughters, worthless to you but priceless to them, I hope that makes you proud. Perhaps you will be careful not to display my family’s belongings for all to see, but believe me when I tell you, the next time I look in your eyes I will know in a heartbeat that it was you, and when I find you, I will crush you with the full force of my wrath.

You are a cockroach of the highest order, you are a mere boil on the butt of humanity, a worthless and pathetic individual and if I do not find you myself, then you can be sure that Karma will.

On a final note, when my tears have dried and my will returned, when my home is restored to some order and my children calmed, you can be sure that I will pull myself up by my own boot straps and carry on. I will hold my head high in the safe knowledge that this time, this feeling of desolation, WILL pass. I will rest easy at night, knowing that I am a good, honest, hard working woman who gives her time, love, and soul freely and generously. I will move forward in my life knowing that whilst we all have a cross to bare, ultimately, we also have a choice as to how we deal with life’s lemons. I, my so-called friend, will continue to make lemonade. You have not and will not beat me, for I learned a long time ago that when life knocks you down, you get right on up and kick it’s ass. I can only hope that next time you struggle to put food in your children’s mouths, you might remember this letter to you, and do the same, rather than continuing to take your lemons and squeezing them into someone else’s fucking eye.

Popping back to say Hello

2011-02-17T08:47:00.001Z

This week I am pulling 14hr days at work, 7 days a week. There has been zero time for stitching or much else really apart from work, work, work. It happens like that sometimes, and it makes the prospect of a weekend (still 9 days to go) bittersweet. Boy am I looking forward to a lie in and a lazy day at home with the kids.

The weather is turning too, which always helps. More blue sky days and the lush green scent of spring is just in the air. I can see daffodils poking their foliage up through the cold earth and the grass sending up new shoots ready for spring sun. Oh yes, Spring is almost upon us.
I am not much of a winter baby, I like it at first, cosy fires and hot chocolate being quite lovely, then come January the novelty has worn off and I am longing for warmer days and sunflowers again.

Today I am longing for it more than ever, and the landscape around River Cottage is changing daily, greener, greener and greener.....

So roll on the weekend, I want to start playing outside!

My Sentiments Exactly

2011-02-13T13:55:00.000Z

I have been wanting to make a banner/bunting for the living area. I saw a really sweet and simple to make word banner in Handmade Home by Soule Mama and decided to give it a bash.
So I needed a word, I thought about Joy or perhaps Peace, maybe Love or Family. I started drawing the letters straight on to the fabric, and well, I'm not really sure what to say by way of explanation, except with life being somewhat higgledy piggledy in recent months, I say this rather a lot, thankfully, mostly in text rather than out loud.

Emerging a little bit stronger, just a little

2011-02-12T12:17:00.002Z

I am feeling better every day at the moment. I stitch here and there whilst the children sleep and the house is quiet as a mouse, save for the constant hum of the washing machine - which I must add, is indeed the hardest working member of our household by a long way, this family of 6 has a seemingly never ending pile of washing, is it just us? or is your pile always spilling out all over the place too?

Anyhow, I have been too-ing and fro-ing across London on meetings for the last couple of weeks, and managed to find time between business lunches to pop into one of my most favourite shopping haunts....

Liberty of London, oh yes.
I picked up a few wee treasures for friends, and couldn't resist a little treat for myself. This trim is by globe enterprise, and comes in an array of colours. I was after green, but alas none was to be found that day, so I plumped for silver, and I am so glad I did.

I snipped the leaves off and attached them individually to my woven cloth. I have been working on this wee corner of the cloth for a few evenings now. The curly wurly branches are now festooned with sparkling leaves and I have stitched them some more to add more texture and general tree bark nobbliness. I really like how this is coming along. Can you see where I used the variagated thread that Jacky sent me?

The chrysalis will give you a little clue as to where the "story" in my cloth is heading, although I am indeed working backwards, there is a story none the less.
Indigenous people recognise the chrysalis as the soul trapped inside in the body, I think we can all relate to that sometimes, can't we?
The humble caterpillar, chowing down on juicy leaves, before wrapping himself in his wee cocoon and emerging as a colourful butterfly, it seems right, for my cloth to share this story of transformation. It does, in some small way, represent my journey through pregnancy and PND and the light at the end of the tunnel, emerging better, stronger, perhaps even a little brighter....

I also spoiled myself and bought more gutermann threads, I love love love these metallics, oh bestill my heart.

What have you been making?

Catching Up

2011-02-07T22:13:00.000Z

Gosh, has it really been three weeks? What can I say - work has been crazy, 4 kids and two parents in full time employment makes for much mayhem, it is a real juggling act. Whilst I have found time here and there to stitch, I have struggled to find the time to photograph my work and post it here (the dark evenings do not help!), alas, I am back for now, and will be posting a few updates over the next few days.

Anyhooo, I am feeling much better, MUCH better, and before I prattle on too much about this and that and my stitchery, I simply must show you this....

This is the Peace Angel Cloth, stitched completely by hand by my very dear friend Jacky, in Australia. I have been following her progress on this cloth for some weeks via her blog, and then lo and behold, it landed on my doorstep, courtesy of Mr Postman.
To say I was surprised would be somewhat of an understatement, words cannot even begin to explain how honoured I am to own this beautiful piece of art, and the gratitude I feel for the generosity and kindness that Jacky has shown in sending it to me, what a sweet treat she is, and oh what a lucky girl I am.

I simply cannot stop staring at it! It is incredibly tactile, every tiny stitch is absolutley awe inspiring, it is so very, very precious to me, I will treasure it always. It now has pride of place above the mantel in our living room, which has until now, remained very forlorn and bare. The Peace Angel cloth was just what the doctor ordered for this rather sparse spot in the house.

Jacky also included this beautiful hand dyed embroidery thread, the colours make my mouth water, it is so eye poppingly yum I just want to lick it.

I have stitched with it a little already, on a secret project which I shall reveal shortly! (oh I do love a good secret!). Thank you Jacky, you really made my day and put a much needed smile on the faces of this family of 6! <3My woven cloth is really taking shape, progress is slow but progress is progress and I am pleased with how it is coming along. Jude's workshops are incredibly inspiring, though if I am honest, I do feel somewhat overhwhelmed to be in the presence of such an extraordinary talented group of artists, I have very much been a lurker, watching, listening, learning....

This cloth is taking on a life of it's own and it's story is unfolding in my minds eye one stitch at a time. I have added curly branches and some more leaves....

One wee nibbled leaf...

What have you been creating lately?

Still Stitching

2011-01-13T14:12:00.000Z

The butterfly idea is growing, I have added some leaves and have oodles of teeny tiny leaf shaped cut outs to add. I have also learned a couple of new embroidery stitches. The leaf shows coral stitch, though I reinforced it with a bohkara stitch to keep it sturdy.

I have also been trying woven circles, my cloth is turning into a bit of a sampler, but that's ok.

An embroidery from the bottom of the bag has also been calling to me, a few more stitches and this will complete. I am not sure what I will do with it, perhaps a cushion or quilt block for Boo.

The house is littered with little snippets of thread which the vacuum stubbornly refuses to pick upp, still, at least it is sparkling and rainbow thread....

Going with the flow of change

2011-01-12T16:04:00.001Z

The rainbow woven cloth just wasn't doing it for me, I also decided it was too small. So I began working on another woven cloth, this time about 20" square and using only white fabrics, in the hope it could act as a nice clean backdrop for appliques made from the first cloth.

I don't have a lot of pale fabrics so I had to attack some bed linen. I have to say the texture of used fabrics is much more pleasing when woven than the new fabrics I used on the rainbow cloth, I thought I would feel a bit twitchy about the frays and wayward threads, but I actually quite like it, the texture is lovely and soft, it feels nice to hold it and I am enjoying stitching it.

Last night I attached the first applique made from the rainbow cloth. I knew as soon as I decided I would make a large applique from this cloth that is had to be a butterfly. Butterflies are the symbol of change, and so it seems rather fitting to me right now, on a personal and circumstantial level at least, change is always afoot, but never more so than now.

The body of the butterfly is embroidered in a haphazard short and long stitch and then I used a metallic thread which I actually weaved through the embroidery. I have also used silver thread here and there.

Check out my Flickr to see the photos in larger size.

I am still working on this applique, but may move on and add more to the cloth and come back to the butterfly later, sometimes it helps to see it with a fresh eye.
I am becoming a bit obsessive about this project, it is a combination of the stitching being a real tonic and the creative possibilities.
I am thinking I might make one of these cloths every month, and stitch them together to form a quilt at the end of the year... kind of like a stitched diary or journal... I just might.

A Hoola Fairy for Katy

2011-01-11T20:01:00.002Z

Katy has received her wee pressie, so I am able to share it here.

I first made one of these fairies a couple of years ago for a swap, this one is complete with ginger hair and twinkling butterfly polka dotted skirt (I want one!), her little wand is fashioned from a tiny branch of elder, and her shoes are in felt with dinky buttons.

Hopefully she will bring lots of good crafty vibes to Katy. I love the colours on this one, her body and skirt are both favourite fabrics from Kaffe Fassett.

I must dash, a second woven cloth awaits, I am oh so busy stitching, will share more in this space soon <3

Cloth Weaving

2011-01-10T13:48:00.000Z

I am taking part in Jude Hill's Cloth to Cloth workshop. If you haven't heard of Jude and her amazing cloth weaving endevours then you really must pop by her blog. Her work is incredibly inspiring and oh so liberating for a beginner to quilting, like myself, who is prone to wonkiness and lack of precision.

The course doesn't start for another week or so, but I have already started a little cloth weaving experiment.
The cloth is woven and stitched to a backing (in my case an old baby muslin) to stabilise it, the cloth is then embroidered, appliqued and embellished according to ones whim, the blocks can be attached and made into a quilt as with standard patchwork.

Being as I have oodles and oodles of scrappy bits of fabric, and not many large pieces, this particular craft is well suited to me at the moment.
Most all of the Spirit Cloths (as Jude calls them) I have seen are very organic looking and mostly in neutral colour palettes, using recycled fabric. Alas, whilst I do like organic, I posses very few neutral toned fabrics and so I am conscious that my own attempts look somewhat gaudy and bright in comparison to the pale and beautiful cloths Jude turns out. Still, one must be true to thine own self, and I do like colour so.
Left over scraps from Amber's book bag have found their way in, same for some of the scraps from a project I did with the fabric Sena sent, and a few other scrappy pieces, including some wide satin ribbon in acid green.

I started weaving the cloth at about 8pm yesterday, and then began stitching it to the fabric, which I completed at around 2am. Quite a lot of work, and it is only 10" square, but I do stitch quite slowly at the moment on account of my illness, still at least the inability to sleep allows me the extra hours I need to make progress.
I am not sure how any embellishments will stand out against the psychedelic rhapsody of colour, so I may have to rethink the neutral debate after all if I am to achieve some contrast and tone....

There is something incredibly healing about stitching and colour. It allows me to switch off from anxious thoughts and exist solely in the moment. I am looking forward to working on my cloth more tonight, and very excited about starting the Cloth to Cloth workshop in a few days time, my fingers are twitching at the very thought.

2 YEARS in the making

2011-01-09T15:50:00.000Z

When I was pregnant with Miss Boo, I wanted to make me a quilt for the new babe. Back then, I had not been sewing for very long, and had not yet become acquainted with the sewing machine, actually, it is debatable if we are yet good friends.
I bought some scrumptious Lecien fabric with matching polka dot cotton, and looked at it for a while, stroked it lovingly and after much deliberation, realised that if Miss Boo was going to have a quilt before she left home, let alone before she arrived, then I probably needed to get someone else to make it.

In steps the lovely Miss Katy, she was my first and only choice, because not only is she a marvellous quilter with an eye for colour, but she is also charming and her dead pan Yorkshire humour always tickles my funny bone.
Anyway, Miss Katy did make the most lovely quilt for Boo, and it still sits atop her bed today, she snuggles it every night. It is a most perfect and prettyfull quilt. Miss Katy really is a super sweet treat.

Almost as soon as said quilt arrived in my posession, I set about making something for Katy. A stitch here, a stitch there, on it went, and on and on and on.
I have asked Katy for her address twice, in very bad form I have even promised to post said treat, alas, it has sat, rather lonesome, waiting to be completed, for over two years.

Today was a dark day. Sometimes I wake up and it is like someone has drawn a veil over me. I feel heavy, sad, fuzzy headed and often quite tearful. Today was one of those days, though I am thankful the good days are becoming more frequent and the dark days less so. Despite my inner darkness, outside was to be the first sunny, blue skied day I have seen in weeks, the whole house lit up under the soft glow of the low winter sun, and when I finally dragged my sorry ass downstairs, I noticed a pop of colour atop the dresser. There, twinkling in the sunlight, vibrant against the sunlit white background, was Miss Katy's treat.

It is difficult to sew when I am having a bad day, inability to focus or concentrate is a common symptom of PND. I can sometimes manage the sewing machine, but hand stitching becomes very laborious. Even so, I realised, right there in my dining room, admiring the colour and sparkle of this project I had started so long ago for Katy, that really, it could not wait one more minute. It represented, to me at least, a huge personal failing and indeed a failure to show grattude to a very sweet friend, and one failure I could not live with, one I felt I must address with immediate effect.

I gathered my tools about me, my beads and trinkets, scraps and a wee stick from the garden, and slowly, oh so slowly, I stitched.
As I stitched, I thought about the kindness Miss Katy had shown me in making a lovely quilt for Boo, the patience she has shown in waiting so long for a promised gift which never arrived, and she never complained and never asked, and really she ought to have the most lovely gift, and the more I thought about it the more I stitched, the more I embellished, until it was just so.

I even managed to catch some of the remaining afternoon sun in the garden, so that I could take a few photos of Miss Katy's gift. Once it was all done, I felt lighter and not quite as low, and pleased that Miss Katy will wait no more. I will post photos another time, as I would really like it to remain a surprise for it's intended recipient.

Thank you Katy, again, for the lovely quilt, and thank you also for unwittingly lifting me out of the fug today. It is true, I am getting better, slowly, surely, one stitch at a time.

A Brave Start

2011-01-09T00:14:00.000Z

Somewhere between Christmas and New Year, I spent a whole evening, some seven hours or so and well into the early hours, getting rather tipsy with my sister Sophie. All the while, I cut and arranged what seemed to be a million and one pieces of my vintage scraps.
Sophie helped me arrange them into strips (this part was lots of fun actually and we were quite impressed with the overall impression when they were all lined up), and then I sewed until I could no longer keep my eyes open.

In hindsight, working whilst A/ quite pissed and B/ dog tired, was perhaps not the best move, my long strips are seriously wonky. I seem to be using that word a lot lately, le sigh.
Anyhow, yes the strips are for a quilt. Which I have rather bravely embarked upon prior to reading about how to actually make a quilt. After all this effort, and the resulting strips, I am now absolutely terrified of stitching them together length ways lest they end up even more wonky, and then there is sashing, batting, backing, quilting and binding and oh, I really have no clue how this is going to end up.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, I will let you know how I get on, though for the time being, the strips are slung over a chair whilst I muster some dutch courage to proceed.

Wish me luck.... you know I will bloody well need it!

Time for Tea

2011-01-07T20:17:00.000Z

Miss Boo got a new tea set for crimbo and a farm, amongst many things. I have gone drawstring bag crazy and have been sewing up wee bags for her toys.
The first is for the tea set, the second is for the farm, but as yet not quite complete.

Both have embroidered reversed appliques, stitched to flowery felt shapes which were then stitched to the main body of the drawstring bags. The embroideries are my own design, and were drawn freehand straight on to the fabric. I am a dab hand at these now, they are so quick to make and I find myself thinking about all the bits and bobs floating about the house that also need a wee bag. Now I just need to buy a ton of hooks to hang these little babies from!

I love the colour combos on these.... ah, sweet colour.

Christmas making

2011-01-05T21:23:00.000Z

Phew, 2011, didn't that come round fast?
I did manage to get a few handmade goodies on to santas sleigh in time for Yule delivery, it was quite busy and lots of fun.

My lovely sister Sophie visited us from Spain and spent a whole week pottering about with us, making, playing, cooking, talking, walking, visiting friends and rather a lot of eating and drinking, we had a lovely time!
When Sophie saw my doodle monarchs, she was most enchanted and asked if I might make on for her, and make one I did.

Young Princess Sophie of Marbella, AKA my little sister, and she is a Princess, oh yes.

Just a few days before Christmas, if I am honest, I was having a bit of a crap time with PND until Christmas cheer arrived, wrapped up in a box from Kentucky, USA. It was jam packed with so much, SO much loveliness. Prettyfull fabrics and pillow panels for moi, wee boxes of vintage buttons, a Book about a Miss Tallulah who makes Blueberry Pancakes, oh yes. For each of my 4 sproglets there was a gift, dolls for the girls and the most darling vintage snowsuit for the Bear, everything was wrapped beautifully and dripping with satin ribbon. Oh and there was more, a whole raft of Kentucky souvenirs, including chocolates, sauce, wine glasses, oh, just SO much. Needless to say, I was quite overwhelmed, and so deeply touched by the incredible kindess of my dear friend Sena. It was such a delightful and unexpected treat, and touched me so. Thank you Miss Sena, you rock so hard <3I will snap some photos of the prettyfull gifts from Sena, first I think the pancake recipe is going to be ~~knocked up~~ ~~tossed~~ in action oh so soon, with blueberries, of course.
In the meantime, I have already started using some of the fabrics and pillow panels, a few went into christmas gifts for the little ones.

This cushion was for Hazel, the blue and red fabrics are from Sena's stash. This is my first real attempt at something patchwork, it is a bit wonky donkey, will mark where the seams need to be stitched next time, so they align properley. Hazel was super pleased with it. I made her a wee bag for her dolly clothes with the left over scraps.

Sena also sent me a super cute vintage christmas pillow panel, which included these charming little snowmen. I sewed up one for each of the children and added a ribbon hanger, they have each had them dangling from their bedroom door.

Ambers cushion was finished on time and turned out square-ish!

Amber also got the book bag she asked for, I chose the owl fabric from Tina Givens because Amber has a thing about owls, the polka dot was kicking around in my bag. The appliqued spots that cover the strap stitching were quite necessary to cover up the masacre of thread beneath. I have discovered that I am abismal with the machine on little fiddly bits like this! Practice, practice...

Miss Boo got a rice bag number set, with a little + - and = to get her going with some easy maths, not surprisingly she currently just stacks them into piles (they do feel nice) and can more or less name each number, but not quite ready for the sums yet. I made a wee bag to tuck them into too.

And a dolly from the Sena stash (thank you again!) a vintage fabric doll panel, this is Mary and her little lamb is included and still needs to be sewn, the lamb is melt your heart gorgeous.

Hoozel got a stocking at about 9pm on Christmas eve..... bit um, last minute, but I more or less beat the deadline.

Phew! Busy, busy, busy. Oh and there is more, I will be back.

Best Wishes for 2011!

One I made earlier

2010-12-18T16:01:00.002Z

Ok, these aren't recent creations, but since I not yet been able to take photos of my recent work, here are a couple I made earlier.

The first is my first ever commission, a friend asked me to make a Russian style doll for her daughters birthday, her daughter is called Honey (isn't that the cutest?) hence the name on the front of the doll. I ended up doing it free of charge, it was so nice to make this and I really feel that this particular doll shows a huge improvement with my embroidery skills. This one is also quite a lot bigger than others I have made, around 10 inches tall.

The little baby is attached to the inside of the tummy pocket, so she doesn't get lost.

The second is, to my shame, a ridiculously late Russian Doll swap. Monda was so so very patient, it actually took a year for me to get this to her, which is um, quite pathetic really. These are Monda's photos, thank you Monda for letting me pinch them to show here.

I do not have photos of the sweet little Russian Doll Monda sent to me, as it is in France, but I will share as soon as I am able to take a few pics next time we head over there.

It's Raining Again

2010-12-13T23:03:00.000Z

Those of you who have been readers for a while will remember I suffered from Postnatal Depression after Bluebelle was born. I did not blog for a long time as a result, it took a while to find myself again.

Since having Bear, it has hit me afresh. It crept up on me like a slow rising tide, and before I knew what was happening, I have found myself stranded again. I sit in bed day after day, sometimes just numb and silent, and often angry and obnoxious. PND is so cruel, it's timing so perverse.
I have decided to be a bit more candid about it this time, more than anything because being creative and posting about it here does actually make me feel better, it is a small achievement in my otherwise mostly unproductive days, and it is something I do for me. I expect cleaning the house or washing clothes is a heck of a lot more productive, but it's not quite as appealing when I am in my darkest moments.

The childrens Christmas list has played on my mind like a double edge sword. On the one side, it is marvellous that I am committed to delivering those hand made gifts because it forces me to drag my sorry ass down stairs and hook up the sewing machine. On the other hand, it has also brought me much anxiety and pressure, and the ensuing guilt as Christmas edges nearer and I realise I am not likely to fulfil all of their wishes, is quite unpleasant.
So, I have made a pact with myself. I WILL make everything on the list, it just might not happen before Christmas.
So far, I have completed Ambers cushion and book bag, the cushion turned out quite well, despite the wonkiness, and the book bag was going swimmingly until I attached the straps, but I might be able to fix that. I have also made a gift for Boo and now need to do another for her and two for Hoozel also. I will take photos soon and share, the days are so dark it is difficult to get a good shot.

I am thankful to have an incredibly supportive network of friends and family around me, and I know with their love and understanding, I will find myself in this fog, it might just take a while. I hope you don't mind me sharing, it is not my intention to turn this space into something dark and gloomy, quite the opposite, I hope it will allow me to shine a little of the light that appears in my otherwise dark days.
Much love and Christmas sparkle to you all <3

A Visual Feast

2010-11-29T12:12:00.000Z

I have been reading a whole lot about babie's and how best to stimulate them. You would think that after 4 kids I would have this nailed, but there is no harm in adding new tools to ones parenting belt, 4 kids or not, I am still learning how to be a good parent (and still messing it up quite frequently I'm sure!).
Anyhow, I started doing a little research about boosting a childs creativity, and stumbled upon this article.

Visual stimulation starts creative development. Therefore, every parent and care giver should show all sorts of colors and different images at early age itself so that child is fully equipped with required skills during the actual stage of creative development which happens between the ages 2-3 years. Creativity is acknowledgment of existing colors and images which is succeeded by improvement in ability to build.

Further research also shows that the more visual stimulation we receive, as both children and adults, the more we are likely to learn, think and create.

Isn't it fascinating how we, not just children, respond to visual imagery?
I am a deeply visual person, a photo or image can speak a thousand words to me, and has both the ability to make my heart soar and my mind race with ideas. It kick starts my creative process and really, after considering this, I realise that much all I do is inspired by visual imagery from others. It might be a particular colour way in an image, a composition so perfect or the actualy content - a collection of something pretty or perhaps just a simple photo that captures a moment in someones daily life - all of these things (and much more) are what feed my creative AND emotional drive, they make me want to do more.

For this reason, I find Flickr the most amazing tool. I can while away many an hour being inspired by other peoples photos and work. It is super easy for me to click click click through photos whilst feeding baby, so it is something I do a lot of.
One of my favourite Flickr habits, is to look at other peoples Flickr Favourites.
Most always, if I find a Flickr user who themselves post beautiful images, you can bet their favourite image list will be choc full of similar themed yumminess.

A Flickr Favourite list seems to have it's own accidental thread, that speaks so much about the person who unwittingly compiled it, like an Etsy treasury, completed without much conscious thought, and on a massive scale. I find many, who like me, have a favourite list teaming with vibrant eye popping shots of colour. Others who prefer natural and neutral themes and there are those (also like me) who have an ecclectic collection that seems to duck and dive across all styles, themes and colour palettes, dependant on their mood.

If you look at my flickr favourites, you will see I go through phases of searching for specific things (russian dolls anyone?), or a phase of liking a particular colour scheme. I guess the over riding theme in my Flickr Favourites is colour, with a focus on crafts and home interiors.
Sometimes I might see one beautiful photo, of something specific, that encourages me to start searching for more of a similar theme, and thus suddenly my favourite list is filled with pages of quilts, hats or embroidery patterns perhaps. One little idea, can spark a whole new journey into my own creative realms, it is endlessly inspiring, and the greatest artists reference point, ever.

Google images comes a close second, but is often haphazard in its results and always, I come back to Flickr, time and time again. I am so grateful for this incredible community of people, some crafters, some photographers, some foodies, some travellers and some just average folk, like me, who take random photos of their kids, dogs, and who knows what else - it's all there, right on Flickr, a visual feast of imagery to inspire in all that you do, and connect with the ideas of others.

I cannot help but think, how strange (and wonderful!) it seems to me, that somewhere out there, our own photos and work and our collection of favourite images, is inspiring someone else too, in which ways we will never know, but I am honoured to be a part of that, and grateful to live in a world where technology allows us to connect our own visual ideas to the masses, at the click of a button, how lucky we are.

I leave you with my visual of the day, two red shoes, for little toes, belonging to the littlest girl of my family, I love little shoes for beautiful little people!

What does your Flickr Favourites say about you? Do leave a link in the comments so I can take a peek into your world of inspiration :)

Doodle Series - Monarchs - Matilda of Flanders

2010-11-25T10:19:00.000Z

It's been super interesting researching royal history to find my next subject. There are so many obscure monarchs that I have never before heard of!
For my next doodle, I chose Matilda of Flanders, Queen of the English. It was this that really tickled me.

According to legend, when Duke William II of Normandy (later known as William the Conqueror) sent his representative to ask for Matilda's hand in marriage, she told the representative that she was far too high-born, to consider marrying a bastard. After hearing this response, William rode from Normandy to Bruges, found Matilda on her way to church, and dragged her off her horse by her long braids, threw her down in the street in front of her flabbergasted attendants, and rode off.

Gosh, what a way to start married life! You can read more about Matilda here.

Sorry you can only see half of the image again, I am having difficulty resizing photos on this blog, it is driving me slightly mad. To view the full size version, visit my Flickr photostream here.
To those of you State side, who are celebrating Thanksgiving today, Happy Holidays to you!

<3

A Stocking for Christmas

2010-11-24T09:12:00.000Z

Well, so much for one handmade gift per child, try 3 on for size, THREE!
Ambear bust in on me yesterday when I was working on the surprise cushion, I hastily stuffed it back in the bag, and had to fathom an excuse RE the sewing machine poised ready for action and various fabric scraps here, there and everywhere.
"What are you making Mum?" she asks.

Now, I realise, in hindsight (such a beautiful thing!) that I should have been honest, and said actually Amber, I am working on your Christmas treat, so on your bike! (That means 'get lost' in British btw).
Instead, I fumbled and stuttered and declared, "I am making you a Christmas stocking!"
Why? WHY?! I don't even know HOW to make a Christmas stocking.
"Oh cool" says she "Are you making one for Hoozel, Boo and Bear too?"
"But of course!" says I. Three words spring to mind. Glutton For Punishment.

Anyway, the hole I had dug was to deep, there was no way out. The stockings must be made. The children insisted on choosing their own fabrics too. Being as Ambear was the perpetrator of this plan, I made hers first. I made a stocking shaped template with an old cereal box, cut the shapes out, forgot to account for seams, scrapped the shapes and cut them out again, this time with seam allowance. I wanted a fold over top in contrasting fabric, but I sewed these on wrong, facing out, by accident, in my typically bungling fashion, so they don't fold, but they look pretty all the same. The stocking emerged from the work table barely 90 minutes later, freshly ironed and was presented to Ambear.

"Oh COOOL!" says She "Can you embroider my name on to it?"
Cue much muttering under ones breath, and a great few expletives once the child had departed. I embroidered Ambers name on to a white scrap, stitched it to another white scrap, right sides together, with the intention of making a reverse applique.
I reversed it, and it was crooked, pissed as a fart, wonky donkey all the way to timbuktu. It looked SHIT.
So, I stitched some fabric to the reverse, and attached it as a kind of homespun wonky gift tag instead. Phew, I present it to Ambear.
"Oh thanks Mum! I really like it... can you just..."
NO! It's finished, begone with you child, I have three more of these things to make.

Anyhow, the requests have since flooded in from the children. A Book bag and doll for Amber, a Bag for Hoozels PE kit and a bear (ffs), Boo needs a bag for her farmyard and animals, Bear needs a quilt (though I do not think I am quite ready to tackle a quilt yet), they have given me a list, a LIST. Just ideas apparently, they say, hopefully, raising their eyebrows and carefully pointing out the vintage linens they want me to masacre for their projects.
Thank goodness we are visiting our home in France this Christmas, I will be sure to return laden with my fabric stash, so that the mass genocide of my vintage bed linens can stop. Assuming I have not hurled myself into the river by then, phew, am feeling the pressure a bit now!

What gifts are you making for the holidays?

Doodle Series - Monarchs

2010-11-23T10:54:00.000Z

I was sifting through some of my doodles recently, and realised that they truly are doodles in the most doodley sense, that is to say, I prepare pens and paper, sit, think and draw. None of my doodles are pre meditated, I simply draw what comes to mind, and that really, is the essence of a doodle, don't you think?
There is something inexplicably calming about allowing ones thoughts to wonder, usually in the most colourful and fantastical way. In my doodling daydreams there are toadstools and butterflies, birdies and rainbows, houses made of gingerbread and always a blue sky, oh yes.

I do enjoy doodling so, it is also the easiest creative outlet for me to fit into my day, as the children are always keen to join me when the pens and paper come out, and thus we are quite often found, one little (or large?) family, silent, or often noisily, scribbling away at the dining room table.

I decided though, that it would be fun to give myself a doodling project, a theme perhaps, as I have noticed that as of late, most all my doodles contain gingerbread houses, toadstools and birdies and what not, and well, it started to get a bit "samey", so after much thought, I settled on the theme of Monarchs.
Royal history is fascinating, don't you think? I had so much fun researching the different monarchs from years gone by, there are just so so many. My foray into history really spurred me on and it was oh so difficult to choose my first subject, but choose I did.

I am not going to limit myself to only great British monarchs, but England has such a rich history and the royal family are an endless source of fascintaing facts and imagery, it was difficult not to begin on home turf.
I knew I wanted to start with a she rather than a he, and as soon as I read about Queen Elizabeth the First, I knew it was she who would feature in the first of my Monarchs doodle series.

So Elizabeth and I spent a fair bit of time getting acquainted, at least I got to know her somewhat. I have to say she was not at all interested in me, given my civilian, bordering on peasant, status.

Very few portraits of Queen Elizabeth 1 exist, apparently the many artists enlisted to paint her Majesty failed to accurately capture her charm and elegance, so most all art works resulting from these sittings were destroyed. I broached this with the Queen and mentioned that a "little birdie" had told me that the true reason was that actually, she was a bit of a minger, wore too much led paint on account of her horrendously pock marked face, and had horrid rotten teeth and piggy eyes. Needless to say, such a comment did not go down well, though I did promise to try and succeed where others had failed and create a most charming portrait.

So, I would be of course be lying had I said it was Elizabeths apparent (or lack of) grace and charm that inspired me to choose her as my subject. It was, in truth, her strength, her absoloute dedication to her country and her oh so inspiring speeches, she was a true leader, a strong woman indeed.

See my Flickr for full size images.

I dare say, Elizabeth thought it quite gaudy and complained I made her look like a faintly surprised clown. I pointed out at least her eyes are not beady and that the colours in her dress would have been much coveted, being as such vibrant colours were not commonly available in those times.

I implore you to read a little about her, and see if you too can be inspired by her strength and the difficult times in which she reigned, fascinating stuff, oh yes.
I leave you with this, Queen Elizabeths speech to her troops as they prepared for battle with the Spanish Armada.

I am come amongst you at this time, not as for my recreation or sport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live or die amongst you all; to lay down, for my God, and for my kingdom, and for my people, my honor and my blood, even the dust. I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart of a king, and of a king of England, too; and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realms: to which, rather than any dishonor should grow by me, I myself will take up arms; I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field.

Queen Elizabeth I - 1588

Scratching the creative itch, rather badly

2010-11-22T10:24:00.002Z

I have set myself a quite overwhelming challenge to create each of my sproglets a christmas gift, now I do have just (just!) four children, and with almost 5 weeks to go to christmas, one gift a week doesn't seem so impossible - but I get so little time to create, and I am SO slow at pretty much everything, sewing, embroidery, drawing, I like to take my time and get it right. With just over 4 weeks to go, I would be lying if I said I was not a little overwhelmed.

Anyway, I have made a start, a rather slow start. I hit upon the idea of making a cushion for Ambear, using an embroidery which I started 3 years ago (I told you I am slow!) and really ought to finish and make use of. So, I have no fabric, well, not much, and mostly little scrappy pieces that I found at the bottom of the bag

, so in my infinite wisdom, I figured I would use said scrappy pieces to create a patchwork border for the embroidery, and ta-da I would have a cushion front. The embroidery is my own design and features Ambear and her precious Sleepy Bear.

However, the bag was sadly lacking in such tools as rotary cutters and cutting mats and even a decent pair of scissors, actually the only pair of scissors I currently have in my possesion are either teeny weeny embroidery scissors or blunt as a donkeys ass kitchen scissors, can you tell where I am heading with this?

Yes, my patchwork pieces were all pissed, I figured that was ok as I could sew them together straight and um, that didn't happen, and before I knew it, well, I had one seriously pissed piece of patchwork, that wouldn't even iron right, with crazy fat and irregular seams. So my first attempt at patchwork is a complete bungle, the donkey with the blunt ass could have done a better job, but oh well. Here it is anyways.

Notice the lack of eye popping colour, Ambear prefers muted tones, so I did my best to cater for her taste with my small selection of vintage scraps, this will be a completed cushion ~~this week~~,~~very soon~~, before christmas. Sigh.

Boo has been playing with her train set a whole lot recently, and has been dragging it from pillar to post in a rather tired looking plastic grocery bag, so out came the sewing machine (which is fast becoming my firm friend, now that I know how to thread her up etc) and an old vintage pillow case, and this nifty little drawstring bag was made. It seemed a bit plain on it's own, so I embroidered a train design to applique on to the front.

I reeeeally should have put this away for christmas, although she also needs a bag for her building blocks, wooden farm and animals and oh the list goes on, back to the sewing machine goes I....
What have you been sewing lately?

Yvestown Giveaway

2010-11-18T21:11:00.000Z

The lovely Yvonne over at the Yvestown blog is running a most perfect giveaway for this super duper cover, made by Yvonne herself using her own pattern, for the Scruvsta Ikea Chair, a runner up will win a free copy of the pattern.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this

post. I don't actually have a Scruvsta chair to wear the beautiful slip cover, but you can bet your nana's I will buy one if I should win, it would certainly brighten up my desk at work.

I hope the week has been kind to you thus far, tata for now <3

Apple Compote for Breakfast

2010-11-04T14:42:00.002Z

Around this time of year, we make the most of the ripe fruits that abound at Autumn by preserving them. There are two apple trees at River Cottage, but these had long since given up their bounty before we arrived.
I was feeling a bit of a pang for the mountains of fresh fruit we would be picking if at home in France, and after discussing this with the children and finding they shared that sentiment, we had to concede it is simply not cost effective to make your own raspberry, strawberry or apricot jam (our favourites!) when you have to buy the fruit.

The Hoozel asked if, as a compromise, I could make some Apple Compote. This is very much a staple in France, children eat it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or sometimes all three! Hoozel loves to dollop it on to muesli with greek yoghurt, with ice cream or rice pudding, or alone with hunks of crusty bread. The latter never much appealed to me, but it is very much common place in France.

Anyway, how could I refuse? Apples are not as pricey as berries so I picked up some Bramley apples and set to work, and I share the recipe with you here.

If you have never made compote, or are not sure what it is, rest assured it is super easy and super tasty! A compote is basically any chopped up fresh fruit, simmered in sugar syrup. It is only a small amount of sugar, so it won't set or preserve like jam/jelly, but it keeps in the fridge for around two weeks and freezes well.

Ingredients:
8 Bramley Apples (or other fresh fruit)
Sugar approx 100g
Butter approx 100g
Spices such as ginger or cinammon can be added if you like
And the most indespensible ingredient of all, LOVE :)

I have stated how many apples I used, I rarely weigh anything, unless I am baking, and prefer to add sugar to taste, being as I made it for the children, the less sugar the better, but feel free to pile it in with reckless abandon until it tastes just so, but I would say 150g should be the maximum, otherwise you're getting into jam territory and it will set.

1/ Peel, core and chop the apples into chunks. Melt the butter in a heavy based pan/pot and throw in the apple chunks, return to the heat (medium) and stir until all the apple is coated with the butter.

2/ Add around 100g of sugar and stir in, continue to stir until the apple begins to breakdown and become mushy. Reduce the heat to a very gentle simmer and leave for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick.

How long it takes depends on the types of apples or fruit you use, so use the time as a guideline only, once your compote is smooth and all the apples have collapsed, it is ready.
Store it in the fridge in sterilised jars for up to two weeks. 8 large Bramley apples will make 3-4 jars.

Hazel heaped it on her muesli this morning, and swore she could taste the love in it <3

Rediscovering the bottom of the bag

2010-11-04T09:54:00.000Z

The duvet cover on our bed is possibly 10 years old. Simon brought it with him when he moved in with me, I never really liked it much and for the most part it has been relegated to the back of the cupboard. However, it seems to have somehow ended up being the only duvet cover we brought with us to the UK. It is perfectly fine except for having lost it's buttons many moons ago, resulting in the entire duvet being on it's ass each morning and the duvet cover on the floor.

Honestly, I don't know why it has taken me so long to get my act together and stitch new buttons on to it, what can I say? I am a slovenly bitch like that (as my mother likes to remind me).
Anyway, I finally stitched on the buttons, a variety of multi coloured pretty buttons from my sewing box, Simon was slightly alarmed to see his old brown duvet cover updated so, and asked why the buttons could not match. I on the other hand, felt illogically, insanely pleased, isn't it funny how such a simple task as repairing some loved and worn part of ones home, can give you such a sense of achievement, or am I just a fool?

When we left France, we left in a car, leaving pretty much all our wordly belongings at the house, to be collected another time - that time has yet to come!
Given that we had one cars worth of space only, I had to pack pretty wisely, clothes and bedding went in first, a selection of the childrens favourite toys and books, and by the time I got around to considering my crafty wares, there really was not much room, so I stuffed as much as I could into one large shopping bag.

Most all of my fabric was left behind, save for a couple of pieces. I started digging around that bag last night, and found a whole load of unifinished projects, one being a pillow case, embroidered with birdies, the transfer is from Jenny Hart's Sublime Stitching- which I highly recommend if you have never embroidered and wish to try, it is so user friendly! I think I perhaps started this project almost 3 years ago, and just one birdie remained to be stitched, so stitched it I did, and now the pretty pillow sits atop Hazels bed, and I am pleased as punch!

There are other projects to be completed, and all of a sudden, being wthout my stash doesn't seem such bad news, it is a great time to make good and complete previous works.

A Doodle a Day

2010-10-18T15:25:00.003+01:00

At least, in the absence of my fabric stuffs, I will try and do a doodle a day!

This is called "My Neighbour is called Frankie Fox" in Berol Felt Tip pens and Stabilo Fineliners, oh and btw, my neighbour really is called Frankie Fox!

4 is the magic number

2010-10-18T10:17:00.005+01:00

Did you know that Boo is now 2? What a big girl my baby has become, isn't is crazy how fast they grow?

Nala and Pip are still with us, I say this with a degree of surprise as Nala is getting on a bit now, she will be 14 on her next birthday and is feeling her age, her whiskers have never been more grey and she is a bit slower these days, but she is a strong old girl and still enjoying life, Boo loves the naughty dogs!

Our return to the UK in March has seen us go through a period of crazy upheaval, moving house when you are pregnant is never a walk in the park, but moving countrie's, and then moving house AGAIN, is really a bit much. Alas, I lived to tell the tale, and our new house is so lovely! We are only renting at the moment, and after months of searching, we finally stumbled upon River Cottage.

After staying at my sisters cottage, with no garden to speak of and bang smack in the centre of town, we are utterly relieved to be back in the countryside with some room to breathe. I never realised just how much I valued our space and some peace, our new home does not have quite as much land (about 1/5 of an acre) as we had in France, but even just a little is medicine to my soul, and the views are tremendous. I haven't taken any photos from the upstairs windows yet, but will do today, the views are awesome in every direction, and there are cows everywhere!

The bridge over the river, this lane leads to a creepy old school, a bit like hogwarts, and we never see anyone coming or going from there, so strange....

Views from the garden

Anyway, no sooner had we moved into our lovely new house, and set about getting ourselves settled, baby number 4 decided to make an appearance!

Our beatiful baby was born on the 17th of September (just 3 days after Boo's 2nd bday), weighing 6.9lbs, and it was the hardest of ALL my pregnancies AND labours, so really it was no surprise it was a boy that inflicted all that discomfort :) He is an absoloute peach and sleeps like a dream though, so I shant complain too much!

Introducing, Bear Geoffrey (Geoffrey after my papa). I cannot believe I have FOUR children, FOUR, you need a special car to get 4 kids in you know, it's a big number, and really, I am still in shock! Needless to say, I think we might be stopping at 4!

He is a very serious little chap, as you can see, all frowns and grimaces, and so unlike my girls, honestly, if the midwife has not handed him straight to me as he popped out, I might not have believed he was mine, he looks so different to how the girls did as newborns - they all look more like me, where as The Bear, is the double of his (very handsome!) father.

I will take more photos soon, as I have a little more time now, what with me being on semi maternity leave, and I say semi because technically speaking I am still working, just from home, and not quite so much. Oh and in the woeful absence of my fabric and bead stash, my crafty fingers have begun to twitch, so I cracked open the felt tip pens and started doodling again, it feels good to be creating after such a long break! I will share photos soon....

Long time no see!

2010-08-24T08:28:00.002+01:00

I have been a terrible terrible blogger!
Life has taken so many twists and turns that I barely know where to begin....
As you know, I went back to work shortly after Boo was born. It took me to the UK and back weekly, it was Hard with a capital H, and after much deliberation, we made the very diffiult and gut wrenching decision to return to the UK :(

We landed back on British soil in March this year, and have been staying at my sisters 600 year old cottage, in Hertfordshire, whilst we look for somewhere suitable to rent. We are moving to our new house in 3 weeks, in the meantime, I am 45 days short of a fully baked bun, yes, baby number 4 is almost cooked - I have no idea how we will manage with 4, my 4th happy accident!

Our new house is a victorian cottage set beside a river with surrounding fields, and yet just a stones throw from the town. Not as pretty or peaceful as our beautiful French house (which we could not bare to sell, and sits empty awaiting our return), but lovely all the same, and after camping out at my sisters for so long, it wil be awesome to have our own space again.

With 3 kids, full time work and my wayward hounds, there is little time for my creative pursuits, and it doesn't help that all my lovely fabric and bead stash is still in France, oh how I mourn my stuff, not having one's belongings around is somewhat dislocating, don't you think? I even miss my books, and my bed linen and my own kitchen utensils, who would have beleieved that a wooden spoon would make me so nostalgic?
More than anything I miss my home, and whilst I know we are exactly where we are supposed to be at this phase in our lives, it is still hard not to pine, just a little, for our French life and all that went with it.

I shall try and be a good blogger, and post at least a bit more frequently than the average once a year!
If by chance, you are still here and reading, thanks for remembering me and sticking around!

Is anyone still there?

2010-01-21T13:21:00.006Z

Gosh! I can't believe my little blog has been so quiet for SO long, what can I say? The YEAR (a whole year - and some!) has just flown by, naturally, I have lots and lots of news.

Where to begin?
Well, the last time I posted, I had just popped out baby number 3 - and I am pleased to report that Boo (as she is affectionately known in our house) is doing just fine.

It is wonderful having a little one tumbling about the house again, and Ambear and Hoozel (whom were none to excited about the idea of a baby sister) have been wonderful, incredible, super awesome big sisters, cupid aimed true and clear when Boo arrived, and we all got a direct hit, she is just adorable.

Here are a few photos to show you how she has grown....

4 months old....

6 months old

8 months old, with Ambear

10 months old

First Birthday!

Isn't she a peach?

So much more has happenned since then too, births, deaths, new jobs, the house has moved on leaps and bounds (though god help me - it still isn't finished!).
However, before I fill you in on the details, I should probably explain why I have been absent for so long.

Not long before Bluebelle was born, my grandmother passed away, my beautiful Nana Ann was 84 and had battled with cancer for nearly 10 years. She was taken from us in August 2008, due to my advanced pregnancy there wasn't an airline in the world that would return me to the UK for her funeral, and needless to say, I was devastated by this loss, more so because I knew she had hung in there and fought so hard to meet her third great grand child, it still fills me with great sadness that Bluebelle won't ever meet Nana Ann, she truly was a very special lady.

I guess things got a little on top of me from that point on, I was already struggling with pregnancy and the loneliness that comes with living in rural France with no car and no contact with friends or like minded folk.
When Bluebelle was born, I was engulfed by the most awful depression, which I now know to be PND.

PND is something I had little or no experience of - I realise now how naive it sounds, but I always thought depression was a state of mind one could snap themselves out of with enough effort, but I learned that it is actually a very debilitating illness and never more so than when you have a new baby to care for, and little or no support because of your location.

Needless to say, I did of course get better! It was a difficult time, that sometimes seemed never ending, but I am lucky to be blessed with an incredible family and the most awesome friends, somehow I dragged my ass to the light at the end of the tunnel, and am happy to report that nowadays, I am just fine and dandy!

It's difficult to start blogging again after such a long absence - part of dreaded having to explain where I had been, but having talked it over with Simon, I realised that this is my blog, I enjoyed writing it so much, I should just pick up where I left of, and really there has never been a better time, because I have just recently started crafting again, more about that soon!

I guess the other major event is that I got a job, it was so random and so unexpected, but one of those too good to refuse opportunities, and it has truly helped me rebuild my confidence and remember that I am more than just a mummy!
My new job means I have to travel a lot, sometimes I am away from home for days at a time, not ideal, but how you appreciate family and home so much more when you are given a chance to miss them some!

I will leave you with a few more photos from the last year or so, and will write again soon with some updates on my crafting!

Also, just because I have been quiet, doesn't mean I haven't been reading all your lovely blogs and admiring your lovely work - and if by some miracle you are still reading mine... thanks for hanging around and Happy New Year!

Ambear is nearly 11!

Hoozel is still a little crazy

Lulu the pony came and lived with us for a while...

And Simon, still hasn't grown up...

A Thousand Apologies

2008-10-02T14:12:00.002+01:00

It has been soooOoo long, I am so sorry for not updating more often.
The last few weeks have been so very hectic, there have been deaths, births, and massive changes afoot in the Hoola Household, at times, it has been extremely overwhelming.

Before I continue, I want to extend my apologies to those of you who have emailed, I will respond soon, promise! Also to those of you who are STILL waiting for swaps, you have not been forgotten! Also those of you who have sent me sweet treats, I will include you all in my next update. And Jacky, I am SO sorry, your package is sat here on my desk STILL, I haven't forgotten you either!

I will be back shortly with more of the news, but here is what I suspect you have all been waiting for...

On the 14th of September at 12:26AM after a 2 hour labour and just ONE push, our little baby girl arrived weighing 2.9kg.....

We named her Bluebelle, in keeping with our nature theme for the children's names, a sister for Amber and Hazel, 3 girls, oh my!
I should note that she WAS called Bluebell (without the E), but Papa Simon registered the birth and we all know men are crap at spelling!

My little fairy baby even has perfect pixie ears, look!

More photos and mucho news to follow, a million thank you's to you all for your patience and love <3

Fruit for Jam

2008-07-06T15:50:00.003+01:00

I have been swinging between crazy tiredness and random bursts of energy, hence my recent absence! Just 12 weeks to go before baby is due and I feel so unprepared, for everything! How did the time go so fast?

Anyways, I have been busily stitching, lots of new creations, mostly all for swaps, will share soon, I haven't had a chance to photograph them yet, but will be back ASAP with pics galore!

I have also been busily stirring up a storm at the stove for the last few days. Lots of fruit grows on our land, and lots comes from our kind neighbours, so the Jam Pot has barely been out of use in recent weeks.
I now have enough Jam to feed a small country, I'm sure!

Check out the scrumptious fruit!

Raspberries and blackberries mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

The cherries came from Monsieur Honesty's garden, despite the fact we have 4 cherry tree's, and he only has 1! Our tree's netted us a total of about um, 2 cherries, the birds were just too fast for us lazy pickers and gobbled them all up. Monsieur Honesty had about 50kg off his one tree, and he didn't net his either, I can only assume the local resident Swallows think our cherries taste better, though this I can't guarantee since I barely tasted a single one, look, here is one lone cherry in our tree, ces't la vie!

The children reminded me that cherrie's are much more than a delicious snack....

Cherry earrings! How sad that stores don't sell cherries in bunches like this anymore, in the UK at least, all cherries have to be seperated (some bizarre Government food legislation), millions of kids will grow up not knowing about cherry earrings, someone should write to the Primeminister! :) Or at least, plant a cherry tree in your garden, just make sure you get there before the birdies!

I forgot to photograph the HUGE glut of apricots we had too, in the jam pot they went!
Everything else is sprouting foliage like wild fire, we can barely keep up with the growth in recent weeks. This being our first summer here (and previously having had a gardener for our French house when we lived full time in the UK), we had no idea how much work was involved with simply cutting the acres of grass and meadow, pruning tree's and generally keeping things from turning into a Jungle!
I dare say, I shouldn't really complain too much about this, since Simon does most of the hard labour (given my present condition), whilst I sun myself and watch :)

I am now plotting what on earth we are going to do with the apples this autumn, the tree's are bowing under the weight of more kinds of apples than I even knew existed, and to think the orchard is only at 1/4 of it's potential capacity, owing to most of it being buried (still!) under a bramble jungle.
So apples, any ideas? Cider is a must, apple puree for baby, what else is there to do with several hundred KG of apples?

One of my favourite things about summer..... BASIL.
I just planted these up in an old French crate I found at a local brocante recently, I LOVE the smell of Basil, to me, Basil IS summer, torn up and tossed into salads, on to fresh tomatoes drizzled with olive oil, mmmmmmmmmmmm.

AnyhooOOoO, duty calls, dinner will not cook itself! I am using more apricots to make an Apricot Bread and Butter Pudding this evening, will share the results and recipe tomorrow :) Until then, Bon Weekend!

Kittens, Kingfishers & Humpy Time

2008-06-24T16:15:00.002+01:00

Ooops, I did it again! I can't believe it has been two weeks since I posted, and I had sooo much to tell you, better late than never?

The last two weeks have been complete mayhem, so much going on, ah where to begin?
Well, it all started when I was quietly minding my own business and going about my housework, suddenly I heard something hit the window, and immediately shouted at the children, who were hurling balls at one another, to mind the windows. I went to inspect the damage, and to my complete surprise, found this little darling unconscious on the floor.

A kingfisher! This silly young thing had flown into the window at such speed that he knocked himself out cold. Kingfishers, I am sure, are a rare sight at the best of times, we occasionally catch a glimpse of their vivid blue plumage as they flit across the lake, but to see one up close, THIS CLOSE, was quite a magnificent sight.

Poor Mr Kingfisher was in a sorry state, he sat quietly, cupped in Simon's big strong hands without even so much as a flutter of his wings.
It is not the first time we have had a bird in hand under much the same circumstances, country life delivers all manner of creatures into our home, and over the months we have had swallows, blue tits and bats, amongst many things, all render themselves unconscious after flying head first into our windows.
They normally always recover their composure after a few minutes and fly back to wherever it is they came from, but Mr Kingfisher stayed put.

Simon thought it would be a good idea to carry him closer to the lake where he might recognise his surroundings better and fly away. No sooner had we reached the lakes bank Mr Kingfisher took off, one gloriously high swoop before he fell, with great speed, right into the water! He kind of half sunk, half floated, Simon quickly fetched the boat, which was perilously close to sinking on account of being full of rain water, and heroically set out to rescue Mr Kingfisher from drowning.

Back on safe ground, Mr Kingfisher sat, once again, quietly in Simon's hands. After much time had passed and darkness began to draw in, we decided to make a wee nest for Mr Kingfisher and pop him in a nearby tree where he could recover in peace. An old plastic plant pot stuffed with hay and dry grass cuttings was positioned carefully and Mr Kingfisher nestled gently on top. Ambear and Hoozel trooped back and forth from house to tree, in pyjamas and wellington boots, diligent in their self-appointed nursing duties, to check on Mr Kingfisher at regular intervals, eventually, as the sun went down, off they went to bed, chatting excitedly about their new avian friend.

I returned to my housework and Simon to the Football on tv, when Mr Pip alerted us to the imminent arrival of Minnu's kittens. He was busy giving her a monkey nibble (this weird affectionate nibbling thing he does to loved ones) and generally paying her too much attention, we quickly realised her panting was due to labour and not Pips amorous chomping at her neck, and were all, once again, on tenterhooks the entire evening.

The first kitten popped out and into the world at midnight, and I was awake all night beside Minnu, as she pushed out two more wee bundles of fluff, the last being at 8am the next morning, when Ambear was excitedly awaiting it's arrival, an incident which did much to answer my inquisitive 8 year olds questions about my own imminent labour - though it took some explaining as to why humans are not born in sacks and mum's don't hungrily start chomping on the placenta!

By now I was dog tired and took myself to bed, no sooner had I settled down to sleep I heard the hounds making a racket, and thus discovered them moments later, attached at the groin after obviously enjoying some humpy time. We had not even been aware that Nala was in season, and planned to get her spayed before Pip came of age, but he quite literally, pipped us at the post! Two weeks on from this very hectic 24 hours of injured birds, birthing cats and humping dogs, we now wait with baited breath for Nala's vet appointment to find out if she is pregnant, and we have three very cute little bundles of kitten to occupy us in the meantime!

I should add, that Mr Kingfisher was not in his new nest the following morning, and we have regularly spotted that blaze of blue darting back and forth across the lake, so can safely assume he recovered and returned to his own abode!

During my absence I have also been back to England, to take the dreaded Driving Theory test. My approach to study and revision is somewhat haphazard, and so no one was more surprised than me when I passed with flying colours! So, I am now a driver in theory, and will be returning to the UK again soon to take my practical driving test.
I am no longer able to ride my bicycle on account of my bump having skewed my balance. I must also accept the idea that once the bump is deflated and replaced by a screaming bundle of cuteness, that cycling is not going to be much of a daily occurance anyway (and I don't much fancy one of those strange pram contraptions that attach to the rear end of a bicycle), so driving a car, after many years of having happily travelled on foot, is suddenly looking like a rather attractive prospect, since I would be lucky to reach my neighbours on foot in one morning, let alone the local shops.

All my adult life I have walked, cycled or braved the perils and filth of public transport to get from A to B, but rural France demands a car, and a car I will have, all in good time.
Of course, cars tend not to deliver themselves unto your doorstep, there is no magic wand to be waved that miraculously alerts you as to the perfect vehicle for you, and so the search has begun, and my god how boring is finding a car?!

My first choice was a vintage Morris Minor, Simon pointed out, that since I am soon to be a mother of 3 sproglets, a vintage car is perhaps not the most practical or reliable choice. I stewed about this for a few days, really I did, I mean, have you seen Morris Minors? They are so cute, and charming, and I dare say, SO ME.

Alas, Simon said I will not be allowed a pale blue polka dotted Morris Minor (it would have to be polka dotted of course!), and that I really ought to consider a proper MUM car, like say, a Citroen Xsara Picasso, yawwwwwwwwn, or dare I even say it, a Renault Espace - if I WERE a practical person then I would be inclined to agree, alas I am not, I am most impractical, and being mother to 3 children before I am 30 will probably not change that, at least I am fighting, with all my wrath, against it, for now at least, perhaps I can compromise.....

I wonder what a Xsara Picasso would look like with Polka Dots?

Anyways, I am now moving into my third trimester of pregnancy, I am heavy, BIG and oh so cumbersome, the blisteringly hot weather is somewhat hard to bare and once again I can feel that dreaded fatigue closing in on me, I need to start sewing, and fast!

On a final note, my lovely wonderful friend Sena, has just started her own blog, be a darling and go and take a peek, she is a super sweet gal and has a super sweet new blog to match! By The Blue Grass.

Egg on Legs

2008-06-06T19:29:00.002+01:00

That's how I feel, like a great rotund egg on legs. Never has the following dedication been more appropriate....

This is the charming work of Green Phoenix, dedicated to yours truly, how sweet is that? FankOoo muchly Miss Phoenix for thinking of me, and my hormonal woes, it certainly brought a smile to my face!

Now I have so so so so SO much to tell you all, lots of super exciting news, but I am very tired and haven't prepared the photos, but I will be back, I promise I will be back, very soon!

Etsy Love & Blog Envy

2008-06-05T10:26:00.001+01:00

It's that time again!
I have some really lovely finds for you this week my pretties, first up the Etsy Love, let's go!

It probably comes as no surprise that I have been scanning Etsy for sweet treats for the new baby. I have stumbled upon some reeeeally cute stuffs!

I am loving the colourful creations of Funky Shapes, it comes as no surprise that the brains behind these booties is from Chile, the amazing use of colour was a clue, people from that corner of the world seem to have the most amazing knack for combining rich glorious colours and this Mum, living in the Isle of Wight, is no exception, just check out these cuties....

That, my friends, is a Bootie Call! Yum!

I stumbled upon the ChARiTy Elise store completely by accident, and was instantly smitten by her bright and cheerful Pottery.

This talented mama from Atlanta, USA, creates a whole menagerie of wonderful pieces, from plates, magnets and mugs to earrings and pendants, her prices are a treat, there is something here to please everyones pocket.
My favourite piece is this the super pretty soap dish, loving those colours...

Finally, I found this next store of delights via Flickr, and my heart skipped several beats. Colorful Dayz has the most beautifully vibrant pretties, I'm warning you, you will not be able to visit this store without parting with some of your hard earned cash....

I fell head over heels with this amazing sketchbook/journal keeper, featuring some wonderful embroidery. I want it, I want it so bad, it is top of my wish list!

This is available as a custom piece, in whichever size/colours etc you wish, always a bonus!

So, let's have a little Blog Envy too! Searching for inspiring blogs is one of my favourite things. Here are my recent favourites...

How could I not include a blog called My Polka Dotted World, I mean seriously, a woman after my own heart!

Kristin is from Oceanside, I will pretend I know where that is, um, possibly the USA... anyway, she is so super inspiring I nearly keeled over and died of pleasure when I happened upon her delightful candy coloured creations.
Her blog shares lots of her crafts, including some beautiful paper crafts/journals, vintage finds and photos of her super sweet home, check it out...

So much cuteness!

Next up, Resurrection Fern is one of those blogs that lights up a little corner of your soul. Margaret Oomen is a wonderful writer, so many of her posts take you on a wee magical journey, like this one, I defy you not to read this and immediately want to go and sniff out some beautiful lilacs and old forgotten buildings.

She is a seriously talented madam, her embroidery work in particular, leaves me breathless...

An awe inspiring mixture of well written posts, beautiful photography and inspiring crafts, Margaret's blog is one not to miss!

Last, but of course, not least, is the good enough to eat Be, Dream, Play... Elizabeth Bunsen is a mixed media artist, who displays her work here in glorious technicoloured abundance. Her collages are especially beautiful, and her various musings and prettyfull photography draw you in and make you want to Be, Dream and Play a little in her world, before skipping off to dream up your own.

Truly magical!
Enjoy! :)

Paper Goodies Giveaway....

2008-06-04T22:20:00.002+01:00

The time has cometh my pretties, all names went in a hat, and as the sproglets were soundly sleeping, Monsieur Simon drew out a name, I can now reveal, that the winner of the French paper goodies is.....

Yay for Jacky!
Please drop me an email with your address so I can send your package :)

Thanks everyone for joining in the fun!

Hey Doodle Doodle

2008-06-03T16:35:00.002+01:00

Just a wee reminder that I will be drawing names out of a hat for the blog give away, tomorrow night! There is still time to enter here, just leave a comment and you're in!

Just quickly, here are my latest doodles. Note to self - buy felt tips that are water resistant, le sigh.

See you tomorrow.... <3

Hello Hormones!

2008-05-29T12:47:00.004+01:00

I have been very mindful of not turning my blog into an all singing all dancing pregnancy and baby zone, but today, I am afraid, I cannot ignore the thumping inside my womb.

I would like to say that I am one of those women who relishes every aspect of pregnancy, indeed they do exist. I see them often, they are always the ones that "bloom", develop a perfect little bump that actually makes them look pregnant, as opposed to the enormous all encompassing bulge that assaults every inch of my physical body and just makes me look fat. They relentlessly stroke said bump, with a twinkle in their eye as they toss their blooming silky hair and tell you that pregnancy is just wonderful! They always look slick and stylish despite said bump, and seem to glide through their pregnancy as though the 20 pound mass attached to their abdomen never once wreaked havok with their back. I wish I was she, alas I am not. Bitter? Moi? um, not much.

I love babie's, I am very excited about our little girl popping out, if not only to finally meet the little munchkin that I am so very curious about. But more than anything, I just want to get the damn thing out and into the open so I can feel like a normal human being again. All the time I struggle with the notion that I must be an evil, horrid mother to have such thoughts, because pregnancy is supposed to be beautiful, we are supposed to embrace the ultimate act of woman hood, and revel in the presence of the child within. If only...

So, anyway, I slept badly last night, actually, that's a lie, I didn't really sleep at all, I tossed and turned all night feeling as though my chest would implode, such was the horrendous never relenting burning sensation of pregnancy indigestion.

I mean who's flipping idea was it to put our womb in it's present position anyway? Right in the middle of our abdomen where it squeezes your bladder so tight that even a sip of tea has you running for the loo.... Right where it crushes your stomach into believing it is full after one bite of toast and thus promptly shoves all that hot indigested food back up your wind pipe, whos flipping idea was that?! Why not put it on our back? We might have a bump that likens us to something akin to The Hunchback of Notre Dam's long lost cousin, but at least our backs could hold the weight and there are no stomach muscles there to be assaulted into sagging like an old ladie's backside, leaving us with a tummy like a rotting piece of fruit that hangs somewhere in the knee region when the baby is finally ejected, so cruel .

When I finally dragged my weary body from my bed this morning, I was told by Simon that we had run out of milk. To any normal human being, I am sure this news would be met with no interest at all, perhaps a mere grumble about not being able to have the morning cuppa.
To a pregnant woman, for whom milk is the only respite for that dreaded indigestion, and is indeed the only thing she craves relentlessly, this was worse than an impending nuclear war.
Confronted with this information, and the realisation, having glanced out of the window, that it was once again raining, combined with a broken tumble dryer and a towering pile of dirty laundry was enough to send me flying over the edge of all rational thought.
My bottom lip quivered, and within seconds I was a heaving, sobbing mass of pregnant misery, much to Simon's dismay, he is never quite sure what to do when the hormones kick in, and seeing me in all my naked pregnant glory, slumped over the toilet sobbing like a child who lost their favourite teddy is perhaps, understandably, a somewhat disturbing sight to any man.

Aren't hormones a wonderful thing? The most irritating thing about such outbursts, is that at the time, when all that emotion comes tumbling out, it seems perfectly normal, and then afterwards I end up feeling just a wee bit silly and irrational, until next time...

On the few occasions that the sproglets have witnessed these displays of childish sobbing they have been both shocked and amused. 8 yr old Ambear tries very hard not to laugh at the sight of her mother blubbing like a baby as she contemplates an evening without tea, milk, or clean pyjamas. The poor Hoozel, aged 7 and slightly less world wise, and who thoroughly enjoys a good cry and all the attention it brings, takes it all very seriously and strokes my hair and hugs me with all the sympathy she can muster, all the time a look of complete innocence and naivety crosses her concerned little face.

To add insult to injury, my cat is pregnant. In my present hormonal state I even feel jealous of the way she seems to carry her baby weight to elegantly as she sashays to and fro, purring like a cat that got the effing cream, silently mocking my bulk. Smug cow.

Now that I am half way to the big day, my mind has turned to memories of child birth. Never has the term "Ignorance is bliss" seemed more true, when you are having your third child you know what lays ahead and being in a foreign country where they are still clinging to the archaic notion that women in the throes of labour should be on their backs with their feet in stirrups does nothing for my morale. Did you know it is actually illegal in France to intentionally give birth unassisted at home? Crazy world.

So, Simon has hidden himself away, from my hormonal rage, in his new home office (AKA Le Sad Caravan) - which is actually a touchy subject because, as you know, I had Le Caravan ear marked as a little guest retreat, it was to be my little decorating project whilst the house is rendered a No Decor Zone as a result of the impending extension and new roof. Hey ho.
The children are safely cosseted in their classroom away from the scary pregnant woman, and for but a few hours I can enjoy some peace, sans milk (sob), though having had no sleep, I suspect I am going to be one over tired hormonal wreck this evening, Poor Simon, Poor Sproglets, let your thoughts be with them, and thank your lucky stars today, that I don't live with you.

Hoola Fairy's and Mothers Day Treats

2008-05-28T11:22:00.004+01:00

Back with more, as promised!
Today is still grey grey grey, but at least it isn't raining, managed to take a few pics, yay!

First up, the Sunday just passed was Mothers Day in France. We already celebrated Mothers day on the UK date in March, so I was spoiled twice!
The girls made these lovely mirrors for me at school, how sweet!

The Hoozel told me that since I already received a Mothers Day gift from her, would I mind very much if she sent the mirror she made to Her Nana Ann, who is very poorly and needs cheering up, so the blue mirror, will be packed up and sent to our dear Nana Ann, I am sure it WILL indeed cheer her up, how could it not? So cute!

Ambear also wrote me a lovely mothers day poem in FRENCH. I was so delighted, not only by the poem, but also that she is coming along so well with this new alien language that has been thrust upon her.
I feigned ignorance and asked her to read it for me and to translate, just so I could hear that beautiful French accent, which she speaks so effortlessly, and so much more eloquently than any adult learning a new language could ever hope to achieve, brought a wee tear to my eye when she read it out loud, she was so shy about it too...

I have been busy making two dolls for two super late swaps, starting to wonder if I will ever catch up! Still, progress is progress and I so enjoyed stepping out of my box and creating something new, I introduce, the very first Hoola Fairy!

Isn't she sweet? She is not much bigger than a Dotee Doll, about 5". The wand is a tiny twig from the garden with felt and fabric.
This one is being sent out as part of the "Where Women Create" Swap I joined a while ago, for which I had to create anything of my liking, and send it off with a little note about where I create, my swap partner has been super patient, I really hope she will like her Hoola Fairy!

I am still putting the finishing touches to another wee fairy, here is a sneak preview...

This one is a touch bigger, and was much easier to make, those arms and legs are sOOoOOo fiddly, I might make an even bigger one next time!

I treated myself to some Berol Felt Tips recently, the fine tip and brush tip. I appreciate felt tips aren't the most sophisticated medium to work with, but I love doodling, and I love the colours of these felt tips, they remind me of my youth!
Here is an A4 doodle drawing I did last night, now pinned in the girls bedroom, they stole it away before I could even blink, only seems fair since I steal away all their drawings to pin on the kitchen wall!

I am looking forward to having more fun with felt tips, a vastly under rated, if somewhat juvenile, medium!

That's all for now, there is still plenty of time to join my Blog Giveaway (see post below), I will probably draw the names this time next week.
Happy Wednesday to you my lovelies!

Blog Give Away! Yay!

2008-05-27T20:07:00.003+01:00

Hello my lovelies! How kind of you to visit!
So much to tell you and so much to show you, but it has been raining and pouring for two days straight, grey skies do not great photos make, so, I shall save my crafty bits and bobs until tomorrow, in the meantime, some news to share!

First of all, I had my second scan yesterday, which revealed that the bump can now be referred to as a SHE, yay! It's a little girl! I was quite surprised, after two girls, I expected this one might be a boy, still 3 little girls I shall have, which is all good, dressing up little girls is one of my favourite things!

So, baby news aside. I also want to tell you about some wee bits and pieces I have decided to part with...
My paper ephemera collection is at bursting point, also, I am working a lot more with fabric these days. That's not to say I won't be doing any collage or paper crafts in the future, just that right now, I am limited on space, and something had to give, with all the new fabric coming in, something has to go out, and alas, some of the paper it is.

So, I have started listing some in my Etsy store already, but there is SO much, that I think I am going to be doing this for a few weeks, so, if you like French paper stuff, go see, and check back often, I will try and add new things every day, time allowing. I had no idea how to price everything, most of the pieces I have don't seem to be available by other Etsy sellers (aside from Postcards - and I have mostly priced these cheaper than others - unless they are rare/special), I am very mindful of not over charging and so would genuinely appreciate your feedback on the prices I have set, let me know what you think!

In the mix are various items, including many vintage postcards, vintage French fashion magazines, oh my! Also, my ever so hard to part with collection of vintage labels, including lots of pharmacy and perfume labels too!

This all surely calls, for a bit of a Blog giveaway too! So I have prepared this wee package of delights....

The giveaway includes, a few sheets of vintage French music, a 1950's French fashion magazine, complete with the most wonderful illustrations and adverts, 10 vintage postcards, mostly French, some vintage pharmacy labels, a fat quarter of adorable vintage French fabric, and some cute French trim.

I should add, that after I took this photo, and left this neat little package on the table, one of the cats puked on it! As I am sure you can imagine, paper does not really recover well from being puked on, hence, I have had to replace the postcards and magazine shown in the picture with similar ones, everything else survived the puking, fabric and trim included, phew! and BAH those cats!

For a chance to win, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. I will ask the sproglets to draw a name from a hat in the next few days, so say Hello, and all this lovely stuff could be yours! I am happy to send the package international, so don't be put off if you are in Timbuktu!

Back soon with lots of photos to share, Happy Tuesday to you! <3

Can you tell....?

2008-05-22T15:39:00.002+01:00

I have a thing for colour and florals right now?
These are all Kaffe Fasset, yum, yum, yum and more yum!

and of course, polka dots are ALWAYS good!

This last one is from Etsy seller From Holland with Love, so prettyfull!

This is the last of my fabric buying splurge, I swear!

A few Creations....

2008-05-19T13:52:00.006+01:00

Remember I told you I was working on a very special dotee? Well! Finally, her royal highness is complete, and I refer to her as such, because seriously, of all the Dotee's I have made, this one was the most demanding!
It all started when I received a book about Bead Embroidery, I have been positively chomping at the bit to have a try, but have so many Dotee Doll swaps to do that I simply could not start messing about with other crafts, my swaps had to be fulfilled,. Then I hit upon the apparently genius idea of combining the two, a beaded dotee! As this Dotee was Goddess themed, it seemed rather appropiate to bead her head to toe, but alas, as per usual, I bit off rather more than I could chew, and this little darling has been many an hour in the making, about 3 weeks to be precise!

So there she is, in all her sparkling, beaded glory. In making her, I have learned about bead embroidery, this..
You require an enormous amount of patience, which I clearly do not possess, and a strong back! That you really ought not to try and bead such a tiny design with such tiny beads (the Goddess inspired spirals kind of got lost as a result), and that you should really not embark on such a project when you are thoroughly behind with swaps, it WILL take longer than you expect!
Seriously, had this doll not been destined for a swap partner, I would have given up long ago, I have a new found respect for anyone who beads, and beads a lot. I now look upon those gloriously beaded Goddess dolls I see on Flickr with renewed awe, it truly is a most pain staking art form, and this doll, is only 4" tall! As pleased as I am with the result, which is far from perfect, but pleasing all the same, I will not be repeating a beading project like this again, it was just too long winded for my wavering patience! I hope Joan in Italy, whom she will be flying to tomorrow, will like her!

Next on my list was an Easter Dotee, I am rather shamed to admit this, since Easter has long since passed, and this gives you an idea of quite how late I am with this swap, still, I got there in the end! An easter theme called for a Bunny, and a Bunny Dotee I did make!

My sproglets were so delighted with this one that I have been ordered to make two larger versions for them, another thing to add to my ever growing craft to do list! This one is going to Robin in the USA, a super talented Dotee maker herself. I always get nervous sending my Dotee's out to talented crafters, I worry they might not like it or notice some of my wobbly stitches! I appliqued the tummy and ears on this one, something I have never tried before (aside from attaching dotee faces), but am pleased as punch with how it turned out.
On the subject of applique, I really have no clue what I am doing and have been marvelling at the various reverse applique projects I have seen here and there, I would LOVE a good book on the subject, sooOooO, if you know of any fun and easy to follow books about applique, please advise, I am determined to improve in this area!

The weather has been a little rainy and dull, though pretty warm. So, when yesterday, the sun came out, we all trooped outside to enjoy the fine weather.

Simon got out his rods and perched himself by the lake, and I got out my sewing box and parked my ever growing pregnant ass in the sun for a spot of stitching.
My sproglets are always interested when I whip out an embroidery hoop, and so I have been encouraging their little fingers to have a go. The Hoozel has started many a project, and never completes them, but is really quite good with a needle and thread, Ambear seems to have more staying power, and both girls have cobbled together a little sewing box each, using old biscuit tins and the various supplies myself and my Grandmother have donated.
It is lovely to see them so interested and inspired. Yesterday I indulged myself a little and started some embroidery using designs from a beautiful Japanese Embroidery book I have been sitting on for a while, the children were clearly as enchanted by the book as I was, as they both parked up alongside me, sewing boxes at the ready, and we whiled away the afternoon stitching away, here are the results....

One of these, not sure which yet, will be used to decorate a simple shopper I am making for a swap (another which I am late on!), and I am not sure what I will do with the other.
Below is Ambear's work, The Hoozel's is absent owing to the fact that she, predictably, was distracted after 10 minutes and went fishing instead!

Ambear was up this morning at 6:30am to finish beading a Dotee Doll she had promised to make for her friend, how sweet! I found her, ready for school, cereal bowl and spoon in one hand, dotee doll and needle in the other, sadly I missed that photo opportunity before she whipped the Dotee off to it's new home, I am just not that quick off the mark first thing in the morning! I am so pleased she is enjoying sewing so much anyway, hopefully her completed works will inspire The Hoozel!

Fabrics have been arriving by the truckload, much to Simon's dismay! Every time another package arrives, he asks in obvious surprise "What exactly are you going to do with them all?!", I have been trying in vain, to explain the concept that one does not need a planned project to purchase much fabric, projects come after the fabric has arrived, non? At least, that is my excuse!

Here are a few of my faves.....

Ahhhh, sweet sweet fabric, now where to put it all?

Mouse in the House!

2008-05-05T20:02:00.005+01:00

One of the perils of country living is of course, mice. When we first bought our house, and were using it only for vacations every now and then, we had a terrible infestation that practically brought me to a nervous breakdown. The house was literally crawling with them, and this was at a time when I had no kitchen, no washing machine, and very few home comforts, as we were still renovating, the mice, were not a welcome addition.

I would wake up at night convinced they were nesting inside my pillow, screaming like a banshee. Simon would drag me from my bed at some ridiculous hour of the night and with lights switched on, give my pillow a thorough shake and bashing to prove there were no mice inside, it was so bad, he almost sent me to the men in white coats.
Eventually, after much effort, we managed to get rid of them all, and stuffed every conceivable entry point into the house with wire wool (mice won't chew threw it as it cuts their mouths), and we never saw a mouse in the house again, that is, until now.

I opened my kitchen cupboard on Saturday and found a very small mouse staring back at me.
I am not squeamish, I didn't run screaming for help, I stared straight at the little beggar until he scampered off into the back of the cupboard.
He was a little field mouse, big round ears and glossy little eyes as black as soot, very cute indeed, however, not so cute in my kitchen cupboard!

I closed the door on him, and considered for a moment what to do. I was quite cross, you see, Nala normally sniffs out a mouse the moment it enters the house, and we have 4 cats, it would have to be a very stupid mouse to venture into our house! Alas, Nala's senses are clearly confused, she is evidently far too busy stalking duck butt to bother about a little mouse.
I called her and Mr Pip into the kitchen, and set about emptying all of my kitchen cupboards, then instructed the dogs to do their work.

Ambear, Hoozel and myself, watched with great amusement as the tiny little mouse scampered from one cupboard to another (via little holes cut for pipes), and the dogs tumbled clumsily in and out of each cupboard after him. Back and forth they went, cupboard to cupboard for what seemed like an age, before the little mouse finally disappeared to wherever it is he came from. The dogs were sent back out, many a dull hour were spent thoroughly cleaning the cupboards and it's contents, and then Simon dutifully lay a humane trap baited with bread, so that little mouse would be caught but not hurt.

The next morning, we were preparing breakfast and heard the trap rattling, one little mouse was caught and released far, far from the house. We thought that was the end of that, but replaced the trap in the cupboard just in case.
The next morning we checked it, the bread was gone but no mouse to be seen, now I was really cross!
I tore the kitchen apart looking for, what now seemed to be where "they", were nesting, but found nothing, and so very confused, the trap was returned to the cupboard, and again we waited.

Less than an hour passed and the trap was rattling away with another little mouse, we have caught another since, and another has sneakily stole the bread away, and at last, I have figured out where they are coming from!
The pipes leading out of the back kitchen wall (in the cupboard under the sink), which were previously stuffed with wire wool, now revealed a slight hole - did you know a little mouse can squeeze through a hole the same diameter as a pen?
The hole has been stuffed again, this time more securely, and the trap laid, just in case, but so far, so good, no thanks to the dogs, who are still, predictably, sniffing ducks ass.

So, mouse problem aside, all is very well! I have been working on a very time consuming, but certainly rather special Dotee doll, which I hope to finish shortly and will share with you in due course.

Also, the weather has been blisteringly hot, and three consecutive days of heat has spurred the fish in the lake into action, they have been spawning for the last 48 hours which is quite a magnificent sight!
The carp literally roll around the reeds at the edge of the lake, so close, and so busy that you could literally pick them up with your hands!

Much work has been done in the garden too, raised beds for potatoes and onions were finally laid, lots of flowers and plants added here and there, more brambles were cleared and more digging than my shoulders care to remember has taken place over the last few days.
Today, for the first time, we enjoyed the very first of our homegrown (if you discount eggs) produce!

The spinach survived the chickens, against all the odds, and was a very tasty addition to tonights dinner, yay for us!

I have been buying fabric like a woman gone mad, and packages are arriving daily, with scrumptious patterns galore, here are a few of my recent favourites, now, what to do with them all.....?

Secret projects will soon be underway my lovelies, watch this space!

Now take a deep breath and BLOW......

wishes for you!

Then there were 4....

2008-04-30T10:01:00.002+01:00

The dogs seem to be having a hard time understanding that Ducks are friends, not food.
Our 6 friends are now just 4, alas, some loss was expected and we are now super cautious about our remaining chums, and the dogs and ducks are only allowed out at the same time under strict supervision, until the hounds get the message, it is debatable they will.

It doesn't help that the ducks, despite seeing two of their friends savagely eaten, have no fear of the dogs, and stroll past them at leisure, really, they are asking for trouble.
You would think they might realise that water = safety, swim little friends swim! But no, they seem to prefer sunbathing to swimming, and the dogs are constantly sniffing their butts and planning their next move, le sigh.

In my long absence, I neglected to tell you all about the arrival of the ducks and new chickens. New pets are always met with great suspicion by the hounds, the main question quivering on their lips, is, predictably "Can I eat them?".
Despite the answer being a resounding NO, some casualties are always expected, and honestly there have been many.

On Mothers day I was presented with two pretty Sussex Chickens and two very handsome Labrador Ducks. I will refrain from going into too much detail because really it is quite upsetting, shall we just say that one of our Sussex Chickens now has just one leg (which she seems to hop around rather well on!), and is thus named Peggy - or Peg Leg. The two Labrador Ducks (which cost a small fortune) lasted less than an hour, we consoled ourselves with the fact that at least they got to swim on a very real lake before their passing, having been previously raised in something akin to a Chicken Battery farm.

Two more little ducklings (this time plain old CHEAP white ones) were introduced to the brood, one of which met it's end when The Hoozel accidentally left the door to their house open, and one of the dogs accidentally found it's way in.
5 more were purchased, which makes six, and there are 4 now remaining. For those of you who are trying to do the sums, the dogs killed 5 ducks :(

Here they are, little sweethearts!

They are incredibly tame, and allow us to pick them up and give them a wee stroke, so we try to enjoy that, whilst it lasts!

I was supposed to be back over a week ago, posting more dotee dolls. I have no excuse, because there are none to make, what can I say? The days just drift one in to the other and before I know it, a week has passed!
So here they are, albeit one week late!

First up, the second in the Shabby Chic theme, this little baby is already on her way to the USA.

Now, I was very excited to make this next little poppet, she is the first Icicle Doll I have made, the theme was Spring. I found the perfect scrap of fabric in my stash, which was sent by a swap partner some time ago, and has finally come into use....

I am really pleased with how it turned out, it is slightly larger than planned, as I really wanted to incorporate as much of the fabric pattern as possible, and I love her little face, Spring like and cheerful me thinks, I reckon this is what flowers would look like, if they had faces :)

This little darling is for another swap, there was no theme so I was free to let my creativity run loose. Since this one is um, eeek, about 8 weeks late, I gave her a "Ooops I'm late!" kinda face!

I really hope my swap partners like their new buddies, I certainly had fun making them.

So many Dotee swaps still to make, and so little time. I have been so inspired lately to create other things, but must catch up with the Dotee's before I can start anything else and I am now literally itching to get new projects under way, so my sewing hands are working as fast as they can to catch up with late swaps, alas, I shall be back with more shortly!

Before I go, I wanted to share these, Bluebells! Spanish Bluebells, but better than none, apparently, where there are Bluebells, there are fairies!

FankoOOoo, as always, for your lovely comments and congratulations! It is always a joy to know you are reading, and for the record, the bump is doing just fine :)

Blog Envy & Etsy Love <3

2008-04-21T19:00:00.002+01:00

It has been so so long since I posted some Blog and Etsy love, so I figured it was about time I shared some of my recent favourites.

First up, is Craft Pudding. Magda hails from the USA, and creates all manner of super cuteness, but by far my most favourite of her creations is her hand carved rubber stamps, she churns them out by the bucket load and they are all truly awesome. Her blog is super cheerful, with oodles of free tutorials for crafty projects, beautiful photography, amazing drawing and those stamps!

I love stamping, and how nice to be able to stamp up some goodies knowing that you are not using something mass produced that every Tom, Dick and Harry has! I have a bundle of Magda's stamps on my Etsy favourites, AND she even does custom work! A Hoola Tallulah rubber stamp is on my wish list for some time soon!

The work of Green Phoenix makes me positively drool with Envy, her blog is simply adorable and her Papier Mache artwork is simply stunning. Her attention to detail is exquisite, and i am so madly in love with the delicacy of her pieces that I simply cannot wait for this lady to spoil us all with an Etsy shop!

This little beauty was inspired by a real 1920's swimming costume... I LOVE the umbrella!

This tooth fairy makes me wish I was 8 years old again, because, surely, this is what the Tooth Fairy REALLY looks like!

and of course, she would carry this message on her undies...

Ow! Don't you just love it? You can see more work from this talented young lass on her Flickr page too!

Finally, I am head over heels in love with the adorable softies created by I'm a Ginger Monkey.
Bright, cheery and oh so very sweet, I want one sooo bad, and one will be mine, oh yes it will, another one for the wish list, which is ever growing! You can find her on Etsy.

You can read the blog here, where you will find more of Ginger Monkeys colourful creations, it is all mucho inspiring!

It was really hard to choose just three, so I have also added some more Links to the Blogs I am Reading section on the right, in case you need more Blogging goodness!
Until tomorrow my lovelies, I will be back with some pics of Dotee's and and an Icicle doll that I have just (about) finished!

Rain, Rain, Go away!

2008-04-17T15:40:00.002+01:00

April Showers are proving to be reeeally annoying now, it has rained relentlessly and as a result I have not been able to get out on my bicycle, which means no trips to the Post Office, hence, these prettie's are still waiting to be sent, but alas, progress is progress, as Simon is home tomorrow to ferry me there in his car, yay.

First up, these ATC's are so so late, they are for the Magical Forest ATC swap, and I still need to do two more but thought I would share these two now.

I used Prisma Colour pencils. It has been so long since I really put pencil to paper (were talking years!), and it is so frustrating to see that my drawing skills have taken a serious battering through neglect and lack of practice, I hope to make some improvements in future, although I am reasonably happy with these, given the teeny tiny size of them, it's not easy working so small, might try collage ATC's next time me thinks!

I also completed another dotee doll for a Polka Dotee swap, here she is!

And another for a Shabby Chic Dotee swap, still need to make another one of these...

And she has freckles!

I have had an endless stream of family guests over the last two weeks which has rendered me exhausted. One afternoon, when my Papa and I returned from Lunch, we found 3 Bullocks grazing outside my house!

Mr Pip was very brave and went to say Hello....

But soon ran away when he realised those things have horns! haha!

Even Simon ran like the clappers when he saw these beasts, wish I had caught that on camera too!

So, a short but sweet post from me, I am still sewing sewing sewing, trying to catch up, back soon with more!

Catching Up

2008-04-07T20:32:00.004+01:00

Greetings my lovelies!

Golly, it has been so long! Apologies for my long absence, and thank you SO much for all your well wishes and emails asking how/where I am.
After all this time of complaining of being unwell, I can FINALLY reveal the cause of all the sickness and tiredness, say hello to my little friend.....

Haha! This little SURPRISE munchkin has put me through hell the last few weeks, I have slept on average 18 hours each day (I kid you not), life just turned into something that happened when I could not get to sleep, alas, the fatigue is starting to pass and I am now getting back to real life without a duvet and pillow :) I am now almost 16 weeks pregnant, and already have a nice bump to show off, yay for me!

So much has happened since I last wrote. Willow and Littlefoot went off to their new home with Carla, there were tears all around but they are now nicely settled.
We have welcomed some new friends to our brood....

And things are finally happening in the garden....

The chickens are back on the lay....

and so are the geese!

There are lots of Spring treasures to be found....

and eggs can be swapped for all manner of lovely things, these flowers came from Monsieur Honesty...

Swapping has taken a backseat whilst I soundly slept and loudly puked my way through the last 2 months. All of my swap partners have been so wonderful and patient, I am ever grateful for the kindness they have shown, and I am SO relieved to finally be sewing again and playing catch up, progress is slow but sure.

First on the list to complete was the Dotee Doll for Dot. Dot wanted a green and blue dotee, so I chose a Kaffe Fasset fabric from my stash and used lots of twinkling blue and green beads, I started this weeks ago, but only completed it on Saturday! Also, great minds evidently think alike because Dot sent me a dotee made from an almost identical fabric! teehee!
Here she is hanging from the apple blossom....

First on my swap-bot list was the 8 week late (eek) Matroyshka Doll swap, here is what I made, 4 evenings of work, the biggest doll is 10" long, these little cuties were so hard to part with...

They are now on their way to Zoe in the UK!
Now, must dash, there is still MUCH sewing to be done, more pics in my Flickr! <3

Weaving a little magic

2008-02-28T09:49:00.002Z

I have been away a while again, the reason being I am sick sick sick. It has been a major struggle to keep up with general daily chores, let alone the bazillion other commitments I have made, and my blog, swaps and Flickr 365 project have been woefully neglected. It is such a horrible feeling to be so behind with everything :(

I have a pile of washing that is threatening to challenge Mount Everest in height, and the ironing pile, bah, let's not even go there...

Anyways, so much to tell you, and so little time, I will be back soon with all the news as soon as I can drag my sorry ass out of bed long enough to take photos and write it all up, but in the meantime, I wanted to share a little project the children and I did a couple of weeks ago when I wasn't feeling so yuk.

A couple of years ago, we went to the Fairy Fair in Norfolk, England, where we learned to make the cutest fairy wands, and we have been addicted to these ever since.

We normally make them using everything au naturel, sticks from the garden, feathers and what not, but the children received a lovely craft package from their grabdmother, containing an assortment of vibrant pom pom's and bright pipe cleaners, so we had a little fun with these instead....

Instead of sticks, we collected some branches which had fallen from our Willow tree, they were a lovely yellow colour and super pliable, so we braided them into a long wand. Wrapped the lower end in pipe cleaners, which were glued into place to secure them, then threaded pom pom's and pretty foam shapes on to string to dangle from the end.

The point was decorated with a red felt heart for Amber and a felt flower for Hazel, secured in place with more glue and pipe cleaners.

Both the sproglets then decided what kind of magic their pretty new wands would be blessed with (water and moon magic) before skipping off to enjoy some magical mischief.

Needless to say, they played happily all day with their new wands. I tried to follow them around with the camera to get some more shots, but was politely told to "Get lost" as I was interfering with the flow of magic :)

My Country Memories

2008-02-13T09:16:00.003Z

As I said yesterday, I have spent pretty much all of the last few days reading through back issues of Country Living Magazine, and this gave me an idea for one of those Blog Tag games.
You see, I have been reading Country Living for some 10 years, but was lucky enough to acquire back copies going back to the late 80's, courtesy of a very thoughtful Birthday gift from Simon one year. I LOVE my magazines, I have them organised by month, and have read every single copy cover to cover, but the first page I turn to, every time, is the back page, here you find the monthly "My Country Memories" feature, each month written by a different guest writer, usually someone well known. I love reading about other people's pasts, their childhood whims and experiences of the great outdoors, and how they came to love the countryside.

So, for this Blog Tag game, you will write as much or as little as you like, about your own Country Memories, then tag two other bloggers to do the same, let them know by leaving a comment on their blog , which back links to yours...
I would also like to add, that it is not essential that you are tagged to take part, if no one tags you and you are chomping at the bit to write up your Country Memories, then go ahead, and back link to someone elses Country Memories post, whoever inspired you to write yours.

So I will start the ball rolling, here are My Country Memories...

I was born in Northern England, and spent the first 5 years of my life living in a town, whilst I am sure I must have enjoyed some trips to the countryside, I have no recollection of them, and so my first memories of the countryside are in Spain, where we moved to just after my 5th birthday.
We lived on the south coast, in a busy tourist town, but the beach was there for the taking, and many a happy hour was spent combing for shells and building sand castles.
It was best in winter, when all the tourists had gone home, and yet the weather was still balmy and pleasant. My brother, sister and I would troop down to the beach, with our dog Benji in tow, and while away hours playing in the sand. Benji loved digging holes and we would have him digging away for hours, as my Mum had told us if you dug a hole deep enough you would reach Australia, sadly, Benji just didn't have it in him to dig that far, but oh what fun we had trying, imagining the Kangaroo's and Koala bear's that we might find at the bottom of our hole.

We buried each other in the sand, and built sand sculptures of boats and all sorts, inspired by the artists further down the beach on the boardwalk, who would make incredible sand sculptures of all manner of things, hat laid upside down hoping for some kind donations from those who were as awestruck by their work as we were.

The summers seemed to last forever in Spain, indeed we were given 12 weeks leave of school, on account of the extreme heat, and we never failed to find activities to occupy ourselves.

My friend, Debbie, and I, were mad about animals, particularly dogs. In summer we would make it our mission to feed and re-home every single stray dog we encountered, of which there were many.
We once found a litter of pups in a smouldering fire pit, all burnt to a crisp bar one little poor soul, who had a badly burned leg and thigh but was otherwise alive. I will never forget the sight and smell of those dead pups.
We took the surviving pup, and carried him in my bicycle basket all the way down the beach, collecting donations from tourists so that we could take him to the vet.
The vet treated his burns, and afterwards, when we tipped out several thousand pesetas worth of pennies on to his desk, he politely declined our payment and sent us on our way with a free bag of dog food, cream for the pup's burns, and asked us to bring him back later that week for a check up.
That vet became somewhat of an ally in future weeks, whenever we found an injured dog we would take him to the kind vet, who would treat the dog for free, and always give us a bag of food before we parted.

I was mad about horses too, and every Saturday my mum drove me to a riding school in the mountains, where I would spend the day, first having my riding lesson and later helping to muck out and groom the horses.
I loved hacking out in the mountains. The spanish countryside is pretty much devoid of greenery, but there is something awe inspiring about those rugged hills, sprinkled with mouth watering thyme (a scent which still takes me right back to those days) and the odd prickly pear - which we never dared touch, the itch they induced was unbearable - all set against the most dazzling backdrop of clear blue skies.
When I was taught to ride bare back - without saddle or bridle - I felt incredibly free, nothing can beat the feeling of charging through open countryside on the bare back of a horse, it was the first time I truly felt as one with my horse, and I will never forget that rush of pure freedom as I galloped through the hills.
On weekdays, I couldn't get to the stables where my horse was kept, because my parents were working, so instead I made the long bus journey to a local tourist riding centre at the foot of the mountains.
I would hang around all day, helping tack up the horses, and it always paid off, I would be rewarded at the end of the day with a free ride, which was the greatest treat of all.

Often my parents would take us to visit friends of theirs in the Mountains. Malcolm and Annette didn't have children of their own, but we were never bored visiting their home, it is still, to this day, quite the most beautiful place I have ever been. Their house lay on over a hundred acres of flat land with the mountains in the distance. Just outside there was an enormous tree, which we would climb to pick the sweet sticky fruits that grew in abundance. I have never again seen fruit like it, and still to this day have no idea what it was, they were like hard brown pea pods, but sticky and sweet, and my siblings and I would fill up our pockets and chew on them all day.
Their house was built in the shape of a donut, with huge ancient wooden doors leading into a central courtyard, beautifully tiled in azure blues and sparkling whites, with rough terracotta pots of geraniums decorating a central fountain, and jasmine climbing the walls.
The scent of jasmine and geraniums reminds me so strongly of my youth, in the summer the gypsies would sell posies of Jasmine in the restaraunts, and I always begged and borrowed from my parents to buy some, then I would sit on a nearby step and breathe in that delicious scent until the petals browned and the rush faded.

I loved visiting Malcolm and Annette's, they had a swimming pool at the back, and a beautiful patio shaded by the grape vines overhead, where you looked out on to the acres of olive groves beyond.
They had a piggery and stables, both of which were devoid of animal life, bar a few chickens, and I felt this was a desperate waste, and longed to live there with my horse, oh what a treat to be able to have a horse in your own backyard, I thought they were crazy to leave those stables empty and forlorn.

Of course, as with most children, you take your surroundings for granted. I didn't truly appreciate the lifestyle I had in Spain until after we had left. England, in comparison, was very restrictive. The weather was appalling, the dark drew in before dinner time, and my mother wouldn't allow us out to play on account of it being more dangerous. I longed for summers in England, and would spend those few short weeks of sunshine at the local park with my friend Sarah and our dogs, lying in the grass, making daisy chains and catching frogs in the stream.
It was the closest to being in the countryside you could get. I loved that park, and indeed spent many, many happy, sunny days there even into adulthood, when I rented an apartment directly opposite.

Simon has always laughed at me when I explain to him that when I am enjoying the great outdoors, I almost feel as though I am in a dream like state. There is something about the vivid blue of the sky, contrasting against the lush green of fields and tree's that makes my heart soar. The older I got, the more I longed to be closer and closer to nature, I yearned for sunshine and flower meadows, open mountains and the sea breeze I had so taken for granted in my youth.

Coming to France has seen that all of those needs in me are fulfilled. I wake up every day to the sun rising over a misty lake, the morning bird song and the day ahead seems full of promise, always. Simon often asks me still, do you still feel dreamy? The answer is always, a resounding YES.

I have visited many countries and explored their countryside, I have trekked through asian jungles, witnessed local tribes at work, stood at the peak of Indonesian tea and rice fields carved into the mountain sides, and breathed in a million beautiful views, but none has moved me quite like my home in France.
The spring and summer are my favourite seasons. The daffodils bobbing cheerfully in the spring breeze, the bluebells scenting the woodland and then, as the sun gets ever warmer, the lily's flowering on the lake and the surrounding fields become a mass of yellow sunshine as the sunflowers reach full bloom, not a day passes that I am not grateful for my life here.
At night the stars shine brighter than I have ever seen before, and every morning, I wake and see it all over again, I can't imagine that I will ever tire of it.

I hope, when my children are older, they too will look back on their time here with fondness and passion. I hope they will appreciate the opportunity they had to explore nature in all its bountiful glory, and maybe some day in their own adult life, like me, seek to find a little piece of their own paradise....

It was horrendously difficult to choose just two bloggers to tag! I have chosen
Vanessa from A Fanciful Twist, because I adore her whimsical style of writing and would dearly love to read about her own country memoirs, which undoubtedly be full of magic and mischief. I have also chosen Cammy K at Freckled Farm, because I Know she loves Country Living Magazine and will be more than familiar with the country memories feature I am on about, can't wait to see what you guys share!

Let Sleeping Goats Lie

2008-02-12T14:07:00.000Z

Yes, I am a bad bad bad blogger, I have been away far too long, and for that, dear readers, my sincere apologies.
I am afraid I have been rather unwell, and in the last few days have slunk around the house in a constant state of nausea and misery, oh how I hate being sick :(

The good news is I am now feeling a little better and in light of the absolutely amazing weather we have been having, I have been spending a great deal of time outdoors.
I have never witnessed a February like this in my life, aside from in Spain as a Child, but that doesn't count! Certainly in England, we were never spoiled with such beautifully sunny and warm days, so it really is quite a treat, and look who are rearing their cheerful heads in approval....

The first daffodils! I am still in awe that we have flowering daffs in February! Ah the promise of spring is in the air!
So, feeling unwell, I parked my sorry ass outside in the sunshine, and whiled away many hour over a cup of tea and a bazillion back issues of Country Living magazine (of which I have too many to count), it has been a very peaceful few days, alas, as always, reality beckons.

I have got horribly behind with my creative pursuits, including swaps, but there is nothing to spur you back into your creative flow quite like receiving some treasures in the post!
This morning I was delighted to receive these beautiful, beautiful little girls...

Oh how special I felt unwrapping these lovelies!
The first is from Wendy in NL, isn't the beading work amazing? I am super envious and must know HOW does she get the beads to lie so perfect like that? My beading is always so wobbly!

I adore the colours of this dotee, and truly appreciate the many hours of loving work that clearly went in to making her, thanks so much Wendy!

The next little beauty is from Dot, how honoured I am to have a Dotee from the Dotee queen herself, I shall treasure her always!
I LOVE the pretty fabric Dot chose, and as with all her dotee's the embellishments are to die for, I really must pick her brains and find out where she gets them, I especially love the little bell at the end of the tail, FankOOoO Dot, you're a star!

Both Wendy and Dot sent me some beautiful beads and trinkets for me to use in future projects, they are both so very very kind, much love and thanks to you both, you really cheered me up with your adorable little dolls!

I am still mid way through the dotee I am making for Queen Dot, now that I am feeling a little better I hope to have it finished soon, and will be sure to post pics here as soon as it is complete, it will of course be an extra special Dotee, being as it is for the Queen of Dotee's! :)

You might well remember me mentioning we had a new home for the goats...
Indeed, they SHOULD have been collected over a week ago, but between Carla and myself we have failed miserably to find a trailer or a car suitable to tow it, so, the goats are still here, also enjoying the sunshine...

It was quite a mistake to not arrange delivery in a more speedy and efficient fashion, because the goats, as if sensing their fate, have suddenly taken to behaving themselves, well, actually "behaving" is perhaps a bit extreme, lets just say they have been a LOT better.

For a start, they seem to have learned their names, and come when called. Which is extremely handy when I am elbow deep in soapy water, washing dishes, and happen to glance out of the window and see the goats meandering down the lane. Now I can bellow at them to come back, from the comfort of my washing antics, and in they trot.

Also, they seem to have a new found respect for the hounds. I am not sure what happened, because Willow previously got rather stubborn about being chased back to his field by the dogs, and Littlefoot refused point blank to budge an inch.
At some point all hell broke loose, resulting in Nala being stabbed in the leg by a well placed horn, and for a while, there seemed to a be a ceasefire, the goats roamed freely once more.

However, I can only assume Nala has since reciprocated with a very nasty bite (though of this I can find no evidence), as Willow now charges back to his field with just a clap of my hands - the signal to Nala to give chase, and is out of sight before the dogs have even had a chance to register what I have asked of them.

So, behaving goats has resulted in much feelings of guilt and anguish over packing them off to Carla's, maybe they can be trained after all? Simon, who threatens to shoot them every time they knock something over or appear at the window, has been plotting and planning several possible ways of containing them on a permanent basis, where as I, cruel cruel woman that I am, have steadfastly refused to co-operate, they WILL be going to Carla, just as soon as we have figured out how to get them there....

Baby it's STILL Cold Outside!

2008-02-01T18:31:00.000Z

I Finally finished the second winter dotee and sent both little ladie's off to their new homes today. It was particularly hard to part with these two, I especially love the second one I did.

I found a little scrap of blue and cream linen in my fabric stash and so this one is more wintery in colours than the last, and I gave her sleepy "I need to hibernate" eyes, which I LOVE.

I also wanted her to wear a scarf so I gave her a skinny neck and I really like this shape.

I hope they will be happy and loved in their new homes, now I am all fired up to make some more and I certainly have plenty of Dotee swaps to keep my crafting hands busy.

Ambear did this lovely drawing today, I wanted to share it with you. She really loves arty things and clearly has talent. I love how she did the hair on this little girl, I might embroider this image on to something, I think it is really pretty. Children's drawings are so refreshingly simple.

The sproglets are just dying to have their own pony, and with Spring looming and one very large field that needs to be grazed, we are certainly considering getting one now. I love riding and would love to teach my girls, but money is tight right now, so we have come up with a little family project to help raise some funds for a pony, all will be revealed soon!

Also, I was asked in the comments on my previous post what that quilt was behind my dotee... It is actually a wall quilt I bought in a charity auction last year, I paid a small fortune for this, far more than I planned, but I knew I just had to have it, it is so vibrant and beautiful and the colours make my heart sing. Sadly, I never found out who made it. I am still waiting to get it framed.
Here are some photos, you can see bigger and better versions in my Flickr.

Thank you to all of you for coming to read my blog, I love reading your lovely comments and get a real thrill when I see how many of you have taken the time to come and visit and say such nice things.
I am so glad I joined the world of blogging, it has led me to meet some wonderful, inspiring people, and I never cease to be amazed by the incredible kindness I am shown and the talent I find in your own blogs and photos, fankoOOo fankOoOO fankOoOOo!

Baby it's cold outside

2008-01-31T18:50:00.000Z

Finally I have finished this little girl, she was supposed to be sent today, so I am a day late, and I still have another to finish tonight. And yeah, it really IS cold outside, brrrrrr.

This winter theme really threw me, I mean, it should have been easy, but I had no wintery fabrics, and really wasn't sure how else to interpret this season without frost and snow, anyways, I got there in the end, it certainly took me a while...

I will be back tomorrow with some blog and etsy love, I must go and finish the other winter dotee, bonsoir!

Dotee Mania

2008-01-30T20:16:00.000Z

In my newbie enthusiasm I have signed up for a ridiculous amount of Dotee swaps on Swap-bot, as well as a couple of private swaps.
In recent weeks I have become more and more disillusioned with the whole swapping business, I have been flaked on an awful lot, or I have felt disappointed with the parcels I did receive.

I put SO much time and effort into my swaps, I spend around 4-5 hours on each dotee (at least 6 now I am beading them) and the other swaps I have joined that have required I go shopping for specific things have ended up being verrry expensive, because I REALLY want my partner to be pleased with what I send. So, it is very disheartening when you don't receive such nice packages in return.

Just as I was about to jack it all in and concentrate on private swaps only, I started receiving some WONDERFUL packages, that brought a smile back to my face.

First up, huge round of applause to Sena from Kentucky, this is her first ever dotee, for the Valentines swap, and it is just the cutest!

I was SO SO SO excited to receive this beauty, it was hard to pick out the details with my camera, but there are some really lovely embellishments, and Sena also sent me a couple of items from my profile wish list which was just super thoughtful, THANK YOU SENA!

The next little beauty to arrive was this...

This dotee is from the Winter swap, and was made by Zoe in the UK. She included a charming note about her creative process, explaining how she chose the colours and the embellishments, I can see so much thought went into this lil girl and I am truly delighted with her.

Theres more, oh boy is there more, I have really been spoiled this week.
Michelle in Vermont sent me this little baby for the Creativity January swap...

This was her first Dotee also, I think she did an amazing job, I especially love the fabric and colours on this dotee, it is so cheerful!

Lastly, I also joined a Maytroshka swap, I haven't yet made mine but today I received from my swap partner and I nearly squealed like a starving piggy when I saw it.

Aren't they divine? These are from Mary in the US, I just love the colours and the HAIR! I must try hair on my dotee's some day.

Thank you Thank you wonderful swappers for restoring my faith, I am so happy to have received such lovely gifts from you all!
I have SO many dotee's to make now that I am starting to feel a little overwhelmed. Also, I have become hyper self-critical, I just can't help it, I will get half way through making one and I just don't like it, so I start all over, I HAVE to stop that because it is just becoming ridiculous now, I have more abandoned Dotee's than completed Dotee's and that's not good!

I completed one tonight for the Winter swap, just in the nick of time too, there are only two days till the send deadline and I still have one more to make for this swap, eeek! It was too dark to take pics but I will post some tomorrow, I am really pleased with how it turned out in the end!

Until tomorrow my pretties, sleep tight <3

Time for the Chop

2008-01-28T21:51:00.000Z

If you are a man, just turn away now, skip to another lovely blog and come back tomorrow when this one has moved down, trust me, you will be grateful for this advice.

Today it was time for our little Goat friend, Littlefoot, to part with his family jewels. Carla insisted he must have the chop before he could move to his new home, as his new room mate Rollo is also a buck and two bucks makes for much mayhem.
Willow was already castrated when he came to us, but Jo, his previous owner, gave me a full run down of the shocking proceedings, which involved no anaesthetic and a very evil looking clamp, she cried, I almost cried when she told me, and we don't even have balls!
Needless to say, having heard the gruesome details, I was NOT looking forward to subjecting poor Littlefoot to the dreaded chop.

It's funny how animals sense the impending doom. Every single time I have had a tom cat neutered they have gone missing on the morning of the op. Littlefoot seemed too, to have somehow telepathically picked up on the mornings promise of pain and misery, he ran back and forth across the lawn in a frenzy, huge balls swinging behind him, as though enjoying his last moments of life with full tackle.

The vet arrived bright and early, armed with a steel case. Despite the bright blue skies, today was bitterly cold, the grass was crunchy underfoot with a thick layer of sparkling white frost. The vet mumbled something about the conditions not being good, and just as I was about to scarper, lest I be witness, or worse still, a partner in this crime to this ghastly deed, the Vet asked me to grab Littlefoot by the horns and hold him still, my escape plan had been foiled before I had even turned my back.
To my absolute relief, Monsieur Vet pulled NOT a frightening clamp from his case, but a massive syringe, evidently pumped with a suitable anaesthetic. I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

A scuffle then ensued as Littlefoot decided he did not want to be held by the horns whilst this stranger hovered with a huge needle pointed at his neck. The vet made no attempt at helping me restrain him with the other hand, and kept waving the needle around, causing me to panic that I was going to be on the receiving end of a lethal dose of Animal meds, that would render me paralysed for god knows how long, then the paranoia took hold. What is this man wasn't even the vet? What if he was some evil criminal who was going to paralyse me then rape me and plunder my home? Where is the bloody clamp he is supposed to have? OMG OMG OMG!
Just as I was about to let out a piercing scream and run for my life, the mystery "is he a vet or not" plunged the syringe into Littlefoot's neck.
I would like to tell you that all paranoid delusions left me there, I mean, I CLEARLY saw the syringe go into Littlefoot's neck.... But Littlefoot wasn't looking sleepy, and my hand was feeling distinctly numb, HE MUST HAVE STABBED ME FIRST WHEN I WASN'T LOOKING! No, I really am just a foOoOOOl.

It was a good few minutes before Littlefoot crashed out. Voila, time for me to make my move back to the house, after all, the goat was out cold, there was no need for an extra pair of hands, au contraire....
It's funny, because when I was a child I wanted to be a vet, today I thank my lucky stars that I had the most horrendous, smelly, maggot eating fool as a Science teacher at school, god forbid I had actually enjoyed Science and been subjected to THIS as a career.

What followed, is really just quite unpleasant. My role as Veterinary Nurse involved me holding Littlefoot's legs akimbo and passing various tools, which were asked for in French. Of course I had no idea what the words for Scalpel, some kind of scissors etc were in French, and the Vet shook his head with obvious disdain and loudly proclaimed my ignorance to be VERY inconvenient as he man handled my goats balls with one hand and clumsily grabbed tools from his tray with the other. All the while, I tried to admire the sky, the tree's, anything but the bloody sight before me, whilst repeating quite abruptly every time my attention was required "Je n'aime pas!" I DON'T LIKE IT!

Willow, who was quite intrigued by all the action, pressed his face into Littlefoot's crotch at the most in-opportune moments.
The whole thing was quite barbaric, though thankfully, I'm sure, nothing as barbaric as what poor Willow must have endured.
There was a moment when Littlefoot seemed to stop breathing, he was quickly lifted to the goat house and rubbed vigorously by the vet before being buried up to his neck in a ton of hay, to keep him warm.

After paying the Vet, and waving him off, I popped back to the operating spot and found two large perfectly formed testicles placed on the stone table. How kind of the vet to leave those for me. What did he suppose I might do with them? Do the French make Pate out of those too?
I didn't want to put them in the bin, since the hounds will happily ransack it should there be any form of meat inside, so I tossed them over the fence, into the ditch, and quite forgot about them.

Later that afternoon, I saw our elderly (age 90) Neighbour strolling by, two balls in hand, he asked "Did Simon lose something?".
I suspect you will forgive me for not providing photos today.
Littlefoot is ok, if a little sore, and the balls, well, who knows, pate anyone?

Day Trip, yay!

2008-01-27T19:56:00.000Z

Today, we went to the beach....

We built sand castles....

We ate chocolate crepes....

Which were very messy.....

We saw lot's of cool stuff....

It was lot's of fun!
More photos on my Flickr album, I am SooOoOoO tired, now I just need my bed.

Red skies at night.....

2008-01-26T21:26:00.000Z

You know, when the sun is going down, and the Sky looks like this....

That the next day, is full of promises. Today, did not dissapoint. I woke up to this...

Glorious blue sky! It was so warm today, considering it is mid winter. We all trooped outside, Simon fixed the fence the goats have been smashing, whilst I set about giving our pathways a good sweep. The kids whiled away the morning bouncing on the trampoline and doing a little fishing with the rod Simon made for them, out of a stick of Bamboo (these are the best kind, right?), everyone was just all smiles and happy, what a difference to your day a little sunshine can make.

I didn't do any of the things I planned to do today, the day just kind of carried me away on it's own path. But I did get a chance to snap some pics this morning, in accordance with my Project 365 promise, yay!
I am getting a little better at using the camera now, and have more or less got to grips with the whole "Depth of Field" thing, now I need to concentrate on light I think.
I took a few photos of some of my family members who I haven't featured on my blog yet...

This is Ambear and Sleepy Bear....

My beautiful Amber is 8. You may have noticed I often refer to the sproglets as Ambear and The Hoozel, if you were wondering what that's all about, well, the French pronounce Amber as Ambear, and they call Hazel, Hoozel, we thought those names are kinda cute and so they stuck. Sleepy bear is actually Sleepy Bear number 2, the original sleepy bear, who was very precious indeed to my eldest, was sadly lost on route to Budapest, he tumbled out of the car somewhere between France and Italy, and was very sadly, never to be seen again.
Amber was horribly upset for weeks, I tried desperately to find an identical replacement, but he was an unusual kind of bear, and I eventually gave up the search and bought her a new Sleepy bear. He isn't exactly the same, but he made her smile again, she always carries him around with her when she is at home and loves him so.
Sometimes, she still gets upset about the first Sleepy Bear, and worries about where he might be and what might have happened to him, maybe one day I will find him again (or at least - his twin).

This is Stan the man, one of our puss cats, as you can see, Stan thinks grooming is for wimps! Which is a shame, since he is white as snow... or was, before he discovered dirt.

This pretty lady is the eldest member of our little animal family, 16!

We inherited Tina from Simon's mum, who passed away nearly three years ago. She is very frail and arthritic, but still rules the other cats with an iron fist, they are all terrified of her and move away from the food bowl when her highness wants to eat. She is also an amazing mouser, what she lacks in speed she more than makes up for in stealth, unlike Stan, who only hunts flies and spiders!

We had a visit from Carla today, as promised. She came to meet our two wayward goats, and I am delighted that she has agreed to offer them a home with her and her goat Rollo, who is lonely since losing his brother last summer.
She has kept goats for 20 years, so we know they are going to an experienced and loving home.
Carla herself, turned out to be absolutely charming too. She has kindly invited us over to dinner, and I am sure we made a real friend in her today.
It's funny actually, because the goats, as well as bringing a little magic and mayhem into our lives, have also brought us closer to some truly wonderful people.
The family we got them from are now firm friends, we spent new years with them and get together often, and I am sure we will be seeing lots of Carla too, and thus we won't be saying a permanent goodbye to our naughty goat friends, when she comes to collect them next weekend, that eases the guilt and sadness somewhat.

I was telling Carla about the dog/tunnel/ragondin fiasco too, remember my dog called Sex? Well, Carla explained, my French friends translated this word as "Politely" as they knew how with their limited English, our dog is not called sex....
My name is Tallulah, and I have a dog called Blow job, oh joy.

365 Days...

2008-01-25T20:09:00.000Z

And so it begins....
I recently discovered Project 365 on Flickr. I used to take so many photos, of the sproglets, friends, daily life... and somewhere, somehow, I just stopped.
Seeing all the lovely photography on Flickr, images of people's lives, family and homes, art, friends... reminded me how important it is to preserve our memories this way.
Photographs provide such a poignant link to our pasts, a snapshot view into the lives we once lived, the good times we shared, the members of our family who are no longer with us and those that passed long before our own time even began, it is such a beautiful and creative way of preserving a little piece of ourselves, our history, our views.

Project 365 requires that you post one photo for each day, for one year. The subject matter is your own choice, it might be this morning's breakfast, a pile of laundry, your new car, the kids on their way to school, anything goes.

I have been riding my bicycle a lot lately, now that Simon is working away from home I am relying more and more on my two wheels to get to the village and back to buy supplies, go to the post office, or just to pass by the kid's school during their lunch break to say Hello.
So my Day 1 of 365 photo is this...

This is my humble bicycle parked outside the village cafe, or more accurately, a derelict house beside the cafe.
I never used to cycle anywhere in England, I went everywhere on foot. It is lovely being able to get places a little quicker, but golly is it hard work, if all this cycling doesn't get me fit I don't know what will!

I am enjoying it though, the lane to the village is on a steady incline, which means on the way there I literally fly down the hill at full speed, with very little effort at all. I love this journey, whizzing through open countryside, with the sun shining, the cow's and sheep greeting me noisily as I pass, and all I can see is lush, never ending green fields and the glorious blue skies above, the wind whips my hair all around me, and not a car to be seen, it is totally exhilirating, it reminds me why I am here, how blessed I am to be here, I feel so happy that I think my heart might burst out of my chest, and I want to shout it out over the tree top's, sometimes, I do...

Coming home, is another story, the first part of my journey is tough but not crippling, then as I reach the last mile the hill steepens, I can see the beginning of it curving up and away into the distance, and I dread it, absolutely dread it.
As I reach the hill I lift my wobbling rear end off the seat to put all my weight on the pedals and grit my teeth, I'm telling you, it bloody hurts, but it gets easier every time I do it, maybe some day soon I will be able to do it without grimacing.

Anyhooo, I seriously need to reconsider my cycling attire... When I parked up outside the cafe today, I noticed a group of men outside, all smiling in my direction. I am not exactly a super model, so I can be certain they weren't admiring my looks, I smiled a cheerful "Bonjour" and didn't think much of it, until I got home and realised I had a hole in the CROTCH of my jeans, as I zoomed round the corner in front of the cafe they must have had a less than charming view, at least I was wearing my nice polka dotted undies :)

I have a zillion and one crafty swaps to be getting on with my lufflies, so I bid you a heart felt aurevoir and a Bonjournee (good day) mes amis!

Food for Thought

2008-01-24T09:22:00.000Z

I have been asking around friends and family recently, trying to find out what everyone spends on their weekly food shop.
Simon is always complaining that we spend too much. I didn't think I was an extravagant food shopper, it's not like we dine on fillet steak and caviar every night, but after comparing food budgets with friends, I realised that we do actually spend a lot more than what seems to be the norm, in some cases, more than double :(

Living the good life, does of course, involve a hefty amount of homegrown food.
Owing to our greedy goats, growing vegetables has thus far been somewhat impossible, and our fruit trees yielded very little in early autumn, having been neglected for so long in our absence... The only thing we harvested was nuts and chestnuts and wild mushrooms, and most of these went to our neighbours, they spoil us with surplus goodies from their garden, and sharing our nuts was the first time we could actually give something back.

We have chickens, but most of them are quite young and have gone off the lay now the days are shorter, so not many fresh eggs are coming our way either. The dogs have eaten more of our chickens than we have, though thankfully we have trained them out of this nasty habit now.
The first chicken Nala mauled, was Goldie, a plump little hen, one of the children's favourites. Sadly, the dog badly injured her, but didn't actually kill her, and so she had to be put out of her misery, and you can guess who got that job....

A little research on the internet revealed that you can kill a chicken by one of three ways, breaking their necks, slitting their throat, or chopping their heads clean off. I didn't much fancy trying to break Goldie's neck or slitting her throat, I was worried I wouldn't do it properly and poor Goldie would end up in even more pain, chopping off her head seemed to be the quickest and most effective way of ensuring she was in fact dead.

Simon was so traumatised by the whole episode and scarpered, leaving me alone to do the ghastly deed. One firm chop and Goldie was beheaded, her little body wriggled for an alarming amount of time once decapitated, it wasn't very pleasant, but neither was it as bad as I had anticipated, I smoothed over my guilt by clinging to the idea that THIS is what country life was about, this is what we signed up for, so best get on with it....
I passed the chicken for Simon to pluck, which he did, after taking a moment to compose himself, wuss bag that he is :)

She went in the pot and that evening we had chicken broth for dinner, nobody ate it except me, they just couldn't let a morsel of poor Goldie pass their lips.
Since then, all of the chickens that were savaged by the hounds were either buried or cremated on the bonfire, but that will have to change.
First of all, the dogs are now leaving the chickens well alone, secondly, we spend at least 40Euros (approx £30/$60) a month, possibly more, on chicken from the supermarket, and lastly, we have 3 cockerels, no one needs 3 cockerels, shall we just say that Coq Au Vin WILL be on the menu in coming weeks. I will also be going to market to get a few more chickens, hopefully by spring we will have a plentiful supply of fresh eggs and chicken.

As for growing our own food, as I said before, anything I have planted thus far has been savaged by the goats. It is for this reason, that we have made the rather upsetting decision to re-home them. We were going to take the plunge and contain them with electric fencing, but this has proved to be horrendously expensive, and would surely wipe out any savings we made growing our own food, in addition to costing an arm and a leg to run.
We have potentially found them a charming home already, a sweet lady called Carla, who has kept goats as pets for over 20 years, is visiting us on Saturday to meet Willow and Littlefoot, and I am hoping she will take them on.

I keep looking out of the window at the goats, frolicking around the lake and chewing the remains of my artichokes, and for a moment I feel sad, then I think about the patches I have dug over at the back, ready to be sowed, and I know we have made the right decision, as sad as it may be...

So I am declaring battle on our food budget. I have a lovely leather journal in which I have been busily sketching plans for the vegetable garden and making notes, ordering seeds and doing research on the ways of organic gardening. I certainly won't be without mentors, since everyone around us grows organically.
I have also been looking into ways of making my own organic cleaning products, which should be interesting, I will keep you updated!

So, bring on The Good Life, hopefully, our good life, is going to get even better, and cheaper, and healthier, I wonder what adventures in country life it might bring?

I will not elaborate too much on today, the dogs are hell bent on raising my blood pressure through the roof, both decided to run away for a few hours this afternoon, I cycled around for hours looking for them. They are of course now home, safe and sound, but totally in disgrace, and after all that cycling I am literally dog tired. Seems Nala has a taste for the blood of Ragondin, after yesterday's kill, and I am worried she will start roaming off in search of them on a regular basis, there will be hell to pay if she does!

Now, just quickly, here are my blog love links for the week. As always, horribly difficult to choose, I have also added more to my "Blogs I'm reading" side bar.

Berlin Whimsy is a lovely blog about one single mum's creative endeavours and home life. There are some very lovely inspiring photos of her work and every day life, and she has a darling
Etsy shop to boot, where you can buy her lovely creations. Her embroidery work is really sweet, and I am loving the pretty Linen Smocks she turns out for little ones.

I am also enjoying the the Cupcake Bake Shop Blog by Cheryl Porro. Every time I visit this lovely blog I am left with an insatiable desire to run to my kitchen and whip out the mixing bowl, her recipes are divine and her photos just leave you wanting cupcakes like you have never wanted cupcakes in your entire life!

Belinda, from Australia, has a delightful blog called Tutti Fruiti, where she writes about her crafting and her peachy - good enough to gobble up whole - family. She makes the loveliest quilts and beautiful clothes for little ones, this is one of my favourite new finds on the blog front.

Lastly, but of course not least, is Little Red Caboose, be warned, this blog will render you green with envy! The writer, a disgracefully pretty Ella, from Canada, is a wonderful photographer, and shares some really beautiful photos of her life and family, as well as her awe inspiring crafts, which are available to buy in her Etsy shop too.

Happy blog hopping my lufflies!

The Thrill of the Hunt

2008-01-23T20:04:00.000Z

Wow, what a day. Where to begin? Well, it was gloriously sunny today, thus the only rightful place for me to be was enjoying the great outdoors.
I decided to take advantage of the beautiful light and have a tinker with the SLR camera, to see if I could figure out all the fancy settings, and see what I could do with it.
I wondered around for a couple of hours, snapping here and there, it was proving to be a very warm and peaceful morning. Then just as I was settling down with Simon in front of the lake, for a cup of tea and a chat about the photos I had been taking, we heard the dogs barking from quite a distance.

My immediate concern was that they had crossed over into the farmers fields and were harassing his cows, an offense which is likely to get them shot, and rightly so.
This seemed unlikely as they are generally very respectful of their boundaries, and as we got closer to the noise we realised that it wasn't cows that were on the receiving end of their wrath, but a Ragondin.
You may remember me writing about these horrid creatures a short while ago, they are huge water living rat like creatures, the French hate them, and with good reason, and now our dogs had one cornered in a very long dark tunnel at the foot of the gloopy glop.

Ragondin's are not aggressive animals, but will attack if cornered, they have HUGE teeth, dogs that hunt these animals wear 4" wide nylon collars to protect their throats, as having their jugular torn open by a frightened Ragondin is how many dogs meet their fate, needless to say, upon discovering that my silly hounds had actually followed one of these creatures into a tunnel, I was somewhat distraught.
Nala, our older dog, is more than capable of holding her own, this kind of hunt is in her blood, and we could hear her barking and growling, and presumably attacking at frequent intervals, but there wasn't a sound from our young pup Pip, and when Nala came out of the tunnel, covered in blood, and Pip didn't follow, we really started to panic.

By now I was on my hands and knees in 5" of stagnant muddy lake water, screaming into the mouth of the tunnel for Pip to come out. Nala went back in, and continued to bait the Ragondin, but still not even a squeak from Pip, if he was injured, we couldn't get to him, we couldn't even dig down because he was in a concrete tunnel which was buried 12 feet under ground.
I told Simon to stay there and ran like the clappers to the farmers house.
I arrived on his doorstep, covered from head to toe in stinking orange slime and mud, panting like a woman in the throes of a very painful labour, just as the Farmer and his workers were sitting down for lunch.
After explaining the problem in extremely poor french - something along the lines of "my dogs, in tunnel, ragondin attack, puppy is dead! (insert uncontrolable sobs here) please bring your dogs!" They politely informed me that their dog's were in fact not there, but kindly downed knives and forks, and followed me, guns in hand, back to the tunnel.

By this point, I really was convinced my puppy was dead. To make matters worse, as I arrived back I could hear the children's cries as the bastard goats ransacked the house in our absence, and saw Simon charging around the lake towards them, whilst the farmers and me ran towards the tunnel.
Nala was still going crazy inside the tunnel, Simon returned with a torch, and now I was howling like a banshee.
A little torch light revealed that the tunnel curved off at an angle, preventing us from seeing the action. All the while I was howling Pip's name.

I may not have mentioned before, that we named Pip before discovering what this word meant in French. Not long ago, some French friends of hours, informed us, with great amusement I should add, that Pip, is actually a French slang word for sex. I am sure you can imagine the look of surprise on the Farmer's faces, as I was lying down in the mud screaming SEX at the top of my voice into the tunnel, what a time to feel frisky!

Nala came out when called, and promptly went back in, then Simon saw Pip in the tunnel, covered head to toe in mud and dragging himself down the tunnel on his knees. Hope was restored, he might be injured but he was alive! After a few minutes he was dragged to safety, he was so covered in mud that we couldn't see if he was hurt or not, I held him against me and ran back to the house with him as fast as my very out of shape legs could carry me.
I put him straight under the shower, and was relieved to find there wasn't a scratch on his body, he was just very shaken up and cold.

Meanwhile, now that the pup was safe, Simon was trying to call Nala out of the tunnel, whilst the farmers, rather enjoying the action, egged her on to kill the Ragondin by screaming ATTACK! ATTACK! into the tunnel at regular intervals, Nala, always being one to follow orders, politely obliged and came out a few moments later, bit the farmer, presumably as a warning not to bellow at her like that again, then trotted back to the house.

The goats had a whale of a time during all this commotion, having burst into the house and attacked the fruit bowl, sending all manner of objects crashing to the floor whilst the children looked on helplessly.
So now we were faced with our muddy selves, two very muddy hounds, a floor littered with two dozen half eaten apples and pears and broken glass everywhere. Needless to say, my peaceful morning was somewhat shattered. The clock struck two, it was time for the children to go to their party, oh joy.

Peace was soon restored, we were all treated to a warm shower, dogs included, muddied clothes thrown in the washing machine and the children ferried off to their party, albeit a little late. Nala had a few minor cuts to her face and ears, one particularly nasty bite that punctured her cheek, but is otherwise safe and sound and looking rather smug that she at least won the battle.

I popped round to the farmers later in the evening to give them a bottle of scotch, by way of an apology for interrupting their lunch, they were already quite merry from their evening aperatif, and said how impressed they were with our Ragondin Killing hound, eager to learn where they could acquire one of these fearless little dogs, they also commented on the pup's rather charming name.
After parting with the scotch and receiving a handful of chocolates for the children in return, I made my way back home and promptly collapsed on the sofa.
Forgive me for not doing my Blog Love post today, I simply haven't got the energy.

I will leave you with some of the photos I took, there are more in my Flickr for anyone who might be interested to see just how crap my photography skills are :)

The lake

Trying to achieve "depth of field"....
I wonder who lives here?

Declaring war on Ghetto Whores

2008-01-22T08:03:00.000Z

What happened to my darling little pup? Just a few weeks ago I could tuck him into the crook of my arm and now, now he is this huge brute of a dog with boundless energy, and already stands taller than Nala, I wish he stayed little forever.
He is a very good puppy for the most part, and doesn't really chew/destroy anything, though he does have Magpie tendencies and collects other peoples belongings to keep in his bed, if something is missing, it is more than likely hidden under his blanket, I quite regularly find my slippers there and the dust pan and brush, amongst many things.

But, here is what I love about my puppy the most, as I said he doesn't chew anything, except that is, for these horrid little things....

Yes, that is a BRATZ doll, I actually banned my children from having these, but friends and family decided I was mean and supply endless amounts of these horrific dolls every birthday and Christmas. Aren't they disgusting? I think they look like Ghetto Crack whores, and what on earth are our children supposed to learn from these? How to wear eyeshadow up to your eyebrows? How to look like a class A slutbag? Oh, and very unsavoury language too, if you ever see the Bratz cartoons, you will notice they will call all the "uncool" people a "Spaz", where I come from that is not a very nice word, and certainly not one you expect your 7 and 8 year olds to be hearing from Children's cartoons (I actually complained to the company who makes these cartoons about this- they said the use of language is in line with how young people speak, apparently).

But look, look what my wonderful, darling puppy has done! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The children keep whining about the daily destruction of their precious dolls, there have been many Bratz Casualties, Doctor Mummy at the Toy Hospital had to deliver the sad news that nothing could be done for the poor dollies, it was time for them to go to the big dolly heaven in the Sky. "Never mind dear, there there, what a shame" (Insert evil cackle). All hail Pip, the almighty destroyer of Bratz! I love him I do.

Today has been one mammoth round of laundry, washing, drying, ironing. The washing pile was in serious danger of causing injury to passers by, so high and towering was it that it could easily have toppled over on to one of the sproglets, suffocating them under a mass of dirty socks and festering towels, so I rolled up my sleeves and got on with it, I really mustn't let it get so out of hand next time, bad bad mother that I am.

I have finished the pencil case for the Birthday girl, Ingrid, I hope she will like it! I am pleased to report the zip turned out just fine this time, yay for me!

Parlez Vous Francais?

2008-01-21T18:33:00.000Z

Here it is, nothing spectacular, just a humble pencil case for myself, with a message for the sproglets - ever since they learned that a pen or pencil is an object you can pick up and scrawl on things (walls/clothes/bodies - rarely paper) with, I have been fighting a never ending battle to preserve my pens. Sounds dramatic, I know, but if you were me, you would understand.

You see, when I need one, there are never any to be found. As an example, I bought a pack of 6 new pens last week, just boring old blue ink pens, today, there is not a single pen anywhere, where do they go? Perhaps they join those odd socks in the bottomless abyss of nowhere, who knows? One thing I do know, is that they do not stay where I left them, so, being as I had to make a pencil case for one of the sproglets friends, who's birthday it is this Wednesday, I figured I would have a little practice attaching a zip, and made one for myself first, now perhaps my pens and pencils will be safe.... we shall see. The girls think it is very amusing and keep making a point of touching it, just to bug me, le sigh.

The zip doesn't look so hot, but I know what I did wrong, and so Ingrid, the birthday girl, will hopefully get a more perfect specimen of pencil case.
Do you like the little mushroom bead I added to the zip?

This is actually the FIRST thing I have ever made for myself, and what a nice feeling that is! I made everyones Christmas presents last year, most everyone received a framed embroidery by me, I wish I had taken pictures before they were all ferried off to their destined new homes, alas, I only have a photo of the one I did for Simon.

The basket is full of eyes, not eggs! I wish I had paid more attention to the detail on these, since everyone missed the eyes in the basket thing and thought they were eggs. I had only just started embroidery when I made this, I hope I am a little better now!

SooOo, today I went for my French lesson, it is held locally by a very kind English chap who offers these group lessons for free in his home.
I haven't been for a while, and now I remember why, it is so boring! I didn't actually learn any French, since most of the ancient members of the class (I think I am the only person under the age of 70, aside from my friend Janice) insist on chattering all the way through about how much they love parsnips, how their dog/cat/wife has the runs/piles/gall stones, or how many cans of butter beans one can fit in a standard size eco friendly shopping bag, all riveting subjects I'm sure, just not when I am supposed to be learning French.

Anyhooo, I have discovered that all the lessons in the world cannot match the learning power of actually spending time with French people. In little more than 6 months I can now hold a conversation with my friends in French, it is of course, completely cobbled together and my grammar is shall we say, um, rather basic, but I am UNDERSTOOD, and this, I believe, is what matters.
I have a really funny new book too, called "Merde - The REAL French you were never taught at school", which offers very helpful phrases in French which I am surely to use anytime soon, such as "Espece de salaud, je vais te casser le gueule!" which translates as something along the lines of "You bastard, I will smash your face in!" Most useful, don't you think? I must remember that next time the baker brings me a Baguette instead of a sliced Loaf :)

Etsy Love <3

2008-01-20T18:58:00.000Z

There was one other thing I bought at the Brocante yesterday, I didn't share
because I had to launder and iron it first, and because Simon was very cross that I had bought it in the first place :(

I am far too impulsive for my own good, and snapped up a darling bedroom set without actually considering where I would use it, and if it would actually fit in one of our bedrooms. The result is, I now have a very expensive bedroom set, that doesn't fit, at all, and a very annoyed boyfriend, ooops.

I decided to do the right thing and sell it, it really doesn't fit on our bed, as we have what I can only describe as wooden panels that stop you falling out of bed - this is purely decorative of course, I don't make a habit of falling out of bed!
It won't fit the children's beds because they have much the same thing, and the curtain is too narrow and too long... see, I told you I was impulsive.

Here it is....

It was the fabric that did it for me, I love jaunty floral prints like this! Alas, to a new home it must go, I have listed it on Etsy, hopefully it will find it's way to someone who will love it as much as I.
I took the bed outside (really!) to take the pics as it was so dark and grey today I just couldn't get a good pic indoors.

So, it is Etsy love time again, yay!
I have found some darling goodies this week to share with you.
First up, I have recently rediscovered the joy of penpals, and so have been hunting around for some pretty letter sets.

You may have already heard of The Black Apple, as it is quite a popular Etsy store, however, Emily Martin, the brains behind those adorable Paper dolls and exquisitely cute prints has just released some charming new paper goods.
My favourite is the Wee Red Houses Letter Set.

I love red, isn't the illustration the cutest? I know I would love to receive a letter on this! The best thing about these is the size, you can run them through the printer.

I am head over heels with this next store, A Fanciful Twist is run by Vanessa Valencia, a enviably talented woman who creates the most darling handmade beauties, including paintings (Originals and Prints available), clay and all manner of other luffliness, she is truly an exceptional young lady.

I adore her artwork, and am pleased as punch it is available on postcards, which I like to stock up on, they're super handy for including little notes in swaps, and a piece of art which can be framed too, should your budget be on the tight side.
This one is called Super Bake girl Emilia, love the colours on this one!

I also love The Curios Playroom.

Vanessa has the most charming Blog too, full of whimisical tales and her magical creations, I strongly recommend you go see!

I think perhaps one of the most wonderful and unique Etsy artists I have encountered this week is While She Naps, here you will find some truly inspirational soft sculptures, quite unlike anything I have ever seen before.

This one is called Big Responsibility, which I think would make a wonderful gift for first time parents.

I also have my eye on Egg Timer.

So much scrumptiousness, so little space (and money!), le sigh.
Now, it's early, but it has been a looooong day for me, and my bed is calling, so for now I will leave you with a sneak preview of a little project I have been working on....

All will be revealed tomorrow :)

Yaaay for the weekend!

2008-01-19T16:29:00.000Z

I was woken up rather early this morning to the sound of a very chirpy Bonjour. I do not take kindly to being woken at the weekends, but when I went to inspect I found our local baker on my doorstep, silly old me had forgotten we had arranged for our baked goods to be delivered, and the rude morning awakening was soon forgiven when she tootled off to her van and returned with fresh croissants and pain au chocolat, still warm from the oven, they looked and smelled delicious!

For the first Saturday in history, I was supping fresh coffee and devouring croissants before 9am, Simon was most impressed with my early rising, but not as impressed as he was with fresh croissants in the morning!
They were quite delicious, I should have taken a pic, but I'm afraid they were settling in satisfied tummies before it occurred to me to whip out the camera.

Croissants are of course, one of the perks of living in France, the only drawback is that they have to be eaten fresh, simply because they are so fresh (not filled with preservatives or processed muck) they stale very quickly. So a morning delivery, straight from the bakers oven, is most appreciated of course! The bread too has to be eaten the same day, try and take a bite the next day and you are in serious danger of cutting your mouth to ribbons! In England they deliver milk to your house, in France, freshly baked yumminess, I know which I prefer :)

We have had a fairly relaxing day, and despite the sproglets very loud and traumatic cries of protest, we decided to pay a visit to a local Brocante. Everyone in our family, except of course me, dreads these trips. I cannot leave a brocante or junk shop without inspecting every single shelf and overflowing box, lest there be a wee treasure hidden somewhere that I might otherwise miss. The family hover around whingeing and moaning and asking when we are leaving, it is at these times that I develop temporary deafness as I go about my thrifting.

I found some really lovely things today, first up this adorable little children's book, which I couldn't resist as it has such charming illustrations, I think it is 1930's, and I love that the previous owner has scrawled her name, Francoise, in the front cover, in that winsome curly script that the French children learn at school (even my own sproglets now write that way).

There are some more images from this dear little book in my Flickr album, if you care to take a peek.

I also picked up 3 very sweet fashion magazines, all dated 1931, I love vintage clothing and the images in these magazines are just beautiful.

Aren't they wonderful? Again, more in my Flickr album.

I was up till an ungodly hour last night finishing a Dotee Doll I am making for my swap Partner, Lindy from the Netherlands. Lindy really wanted a dotee, so we arranged a swap, and I am so pleased with how this little baby turned out.

It is my first try at beading, and it is far from perfect but I am pleased as punch with the overall effect. The fabric reminded me of a Japanese Kimono fabric, so I gave this lil girl asian style eyes, and beaded in line with the existing fabric pattern. It took me HOURS, but it was so worth the effort. Simon said I should sell these, but I think it defies what Dotee's are all about, money can't buy the love that goes into my dotee's, the making of them is a pleasure, but the greatest pleasure, I think, comes from sending it out into the world for someone to enjoy, with your own best wishes and a little piece of your heart to boot.
I hope Lindy will like it!

My Dotee craziness has got slightly out of hand, and I am now involved in several dotee swaps between now and the end of February, it will certainly keep my crafting hands busy!

I haven't forgotten my Etsy love post, but will do it tomorrow instead, as I have already rambled on enough for one day ;)

The Gloopy Glop

2008-01-17T18:37:00.000Z

The rain keeps on coming down and I am so miserable with it now, I am really not a winter baby, roll on Spring!
There has been so much rain that the lake is now almost full....

It overflows into our woodland, which turns this area into a seething mass of mud, water and teeny tiny fish, the water area you can see in this photo below is what we refer to as, The Gloopy Glop.

It is about a foot deep, and since I haven't yet got some wellies, I took a photo from afar. It stays like this right up until Spring when the rain finally lets up, in the meantime the children make many a trip back and forth with a bucket, trying to save all the tiny little fish that slip through the lake's overflow, a futile task, but generous all the same.

There are so many things I have wanted to take photos of, but it has been so dark and overcast that taking photos indoors is nigh on impossible, I seriously need to invest in some decent lighting!

I have been twitching so bad to do some decorating, I need a big project to keep me occupied, and so I have set my sights on this sad little mess...

Le caravan! This little baby was here when we bought the house, despite it's rather tired exterior it is actually in pretty good nick inside, and still has it's original 70's curtains! I am going to tackle the interior first, and wait for a stretch of sunny days before I clean and paint the exterior.

I really want to paint it in colours, I have been desperately trying to find the photo of Cath Kidston's Pop Flowers caravan, has anyone else seen it? It is so jolly and bright, I am determined that our little caravan will be as pretty, and am toying with the idea of polka dots, I have never seen a polka dotted caravan before, sounds fun!

I did have Le caravan earmarked as my little private craft studio, but since I do most of my crafting in the evening, it seems rather pointless as I will not be traipsing all the down there in the dark to fetch supplies, so, it will be our little guest retreat, or somewhere to hide and read when the kid's are rioting :)

Speaking of the sproglets, they were off school yesterday, as per the norm for Wednesday, as it was grey and rainy outside I let them loose in the kitchen to do some baking.
They were so enamored with the fairy cakes I made last time that they insisted on making some themselves.

They wanted honey flavoured fairy cakes, which I must say turned out perfectly, I just replaced some of the sugar content with a hefty dollop of sticky honey, courtesy of our neighbour Raymond and his busy bee's, the result was quite delicious.

There's the Hoozel showing them off!

I really am terribly forgetful and forgot this weeks Blog Love post, which should have been posted on Tuesday, the sieve head strikes once again! I may have forgotten to post, but I certainly did not forget to keep checking out lovely blogs, so here are my findings for you.

It was so hard to choose this week! I have narrowed it down to 3, but check the "Blogs I'm Reading" list on your right, as I have added some other new favourites there too.

First up, I am head over heels in love with the Rosehip Blog, written by a very talented lady called Beata, from Vancouver, Canada.
Her crafts are to die for, her writing thoroughly addictive and her photos truly awe inspiring, just check out these adorable Babushka dolls she has made..

Of course I am a sucker for polka dots, but they really are super cute! You cannot fail to be inspired by her whimsical creations, go take a peek!

Next up is My Romantic Home, written by the ever talented Cindy. This blog thoroughly lives up to it's name! Cindy presents photos of her decorating projects and some beautiful images of her garden, which will encourage green fingers in addition to making you green with envy!
Just check out this girls dining room....

Isn't it divine? Her beautiful home has not gone unnoticed and is soon to be featured in America's Romantic Country magazine, I wish I could get it here in France :(

Lastly, but by no means least, is Freckled Farm, a delightful concoction of family, home and crafts, presented by the very lovely CammyK.
She takes wonderful photos and her family look good enough to eat, she also has a very sweet giveaway for readers at the moment, so go meet her!

Well that's me done for today, I have a HUGE amount of crafty swaps I need to catch up on so I really must dash, a bientot mes amis!

oooops, ETSY LOVE! <3

2008-01-12T21:09:00.000Z

The sieve head strikes, I completely forgot Friday Etsy love, so here it is, albeit a day late, sowwy!

I have been very very naughty, spending my pennies on prettyfull things I can't afford but simply must have, story of my life, bane of Simon's, ha!
I just could not help myself when I saw this beautiful collage on Flickr.

This beauty is from Dollface Designs, it is called The Littlest Queen and features an adorable Kewpie doll printed on antique ledger paper. I am super picky about what goes on my walls, so when I see something I love I snap it up, this little baby will be framed and will take pride of place somewhere where I can adore it on a daily basis. This delightful Etsy store has lots more yummity prints available and is liable to render me penniless if I keep visiting it, prepare to part with your hard earned dollars, this gal's work is just too cute.

I am also coveting the beautiful artwork of Art and Ghosts, in particular this adorable print called Ruby.

Isn't is just the sweetest? I love the vibrancy of the red against the pale backdrop, but if this is too bright for your tastes, just check out this baby.

This is Little Grete a hauntingly beautiful picture.

I am also loving the work of the very awesome Pequenio Craft by Munieca. This store features some scrumptious paper crafts at VERY reasonable prices, perfect for swap packages or little gifts for grown up's and kids alike.

This is the Tea Cup Brooch, an absoloute steal at $8.00, it is on my wish list, I hope to pin it to one of my handbags which I just know it will match perfectly.

I have been spending a lot of time checking out pics on Flickr recently, and keep stumbling across photos of Blythe Dolls, I love all things dolly anyway, but the idea of having a dolly I can dress and make lil things for is appealing to me more and more, kinda like rediscovering my inner brat, ooops, I mean, child.

SooOoOO, I did the naughtiest thing! I bought one on ebay! SHAME ON ME! But shhhhh, don't tell Simon.
It hasn't arrived yet, and I am beside myself with excitement and have been spending far too much time looking at cute Blythe clothes on Etsy, here are a couple of my favourite Blythey sellers.

I am a sucker for toadstools, and so how could I pass up this little darling?

This little cutie is from H.Loves.R, she has some delectable handmade Blythe goodies, and I am sure to be returning for more, but not yet, I promise my purse, not yet!
That said, there is so much cuteness out there to be had for these dollies, that it is going to be seriously hard not to succumb!

I also have my eye on this...

The Ooh la la Dress Set from Her Flying Horses, damn the budget smudget, I want it soooo bad, alas, I must wait.

Now, I reeeally must dash, I need to go and find some Blythe Dolly dress patterns, oh and here she is btw, the one I bought, suggestions for a name much appreciated ;)