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Saturday 26 March 2016

Easter already !







A busy few weeks here one way or another.  My dear brother in law is still very ill 10 days after heart surgery and my sweet sister too , awaiting a big operation soon .  This is when living here seems quiet far away as they live some distance from us , probably a 7 or 8 hour drive away.  If I am needed I would probably go by train.  Thankfully they have their family nearby and I am
texted and e mailed updates daily if not more.

Little man has had a chesty cold and been off school and what with him and Dextie I seem to have a
permanent shadow !  Not that I am complaining, but not much sewing or anything really getting done.
I have done quite a bit of cutting out though . The craft fair was cancelled through lack of people wanting to take part.  I am not surprised really considering the poor attendance back at Christmas .  I have however offered to make some little bits for the school garden fund raising project.  You may remember back in December a local shop approached me?  Well I have popped in and had a chat but I have decided I really do not have the time to do this on a regular basis.  I would need to be more committed than I would like and life throws things at you at times without warning and I would hate my hobby to be a chore.  The lady was so lovely though and said if I do get some makes together at any time to pop in and we have left it at that.

Do you like yellow?  I must admit I do like it but don't use it much on any projects.  Whilst picking out fabric from the stash in the suitcase I realised I did have a few fat quarters so dug them out and
will try to use them up.  Whilst I was looking at the colours I realised I am not a orange or dark colour person either ...... funny what colours attract one person but not another.......   When I read blogs , I love looking at colour combinations people choose.  I could play happily for hours if I
had the time , putting colour combinations together......





My usual crafting mess!
My "new" scissors by the way have been 
great.  No more blisters 
on the old thumb area so one problem solved.


Last week our handy man turned up with a noisey compressor.  After lifting the top soil off the mole hills into nearby tubs he set to.

From this






To this

and then again to  the next morning, mole back again with 3 new molehills !

We need to source a "mole man" .  The garden is being ruined by this rodent and although I am told it will start all over again within months of this one being caught , when a new mole will no doubt take up residency , we really need to do something.  The first two years we did have the odd one or two but Chris counted 29! before he started work .  He has reseeded the lawn but to be honest I am thinking that is just wishful thinking.


The back garden however is beginning to show signs at last of Spring

hellebore 





I just adore this blue
I bought this last year in a supermarket
and when it finished just
popped it in a pot outside ,
I was delighted to see it's return 




pots in need of a good tidy
but new growth on the climbers 
(Told you I have a permanent shadow!) 



Our garden has small banks around the boundary 
and they are now filled with yellow
and pink primulas that self
seed everywhere here.
No signs of any " forget me nots " yet



these I didn't get around to planting 
last year 
I hid them under the garden bench
and am so surprised 
they haven't been got at
by the slugs and snails 



A couple of the apple trees 
now in bud




High winds and rain here this morning
I shouldn't be surprised 
it is a bank holiday weekend in 
Wales after all!



Monday 14 March 2016

"A word in your ear"

Those were the words DH whispered to me one day last week,  the sentence  finished with ,"you are hoarding again"  I am sure I mentioned that before we moved here just over 2 years ago I had numerous trips to declutter to either charity shops or the tip...well.  There I was in my very favourite junk shop, more like a warehouse really , in Cardigan, with him and Little Miss.  Little Miss was having a routine physio assessment and due to the time of the appointment we decided a day off was called for.  We had just had brunch in our favourite cafe.  "What did he say?" asked our daughter and he repeated his observation for her benefit.  Her reply " us girls are making our home beautiful for you boys!" We all laughed.   That's my girl I thought . I did mention to DH there were loads of boys stuff like old hand tools he could look at, but no that man of mine has no sense of rummaging for hidden treasures, he has no soul for that sort of thing. Boot fairs, flea markets ? he only goes if he is bribed with a) he can take a iPad and b) he is feed lots of tea, cake or chips or a hot dog!  Anyway I digress....rarely I come away single handed, as I pointed out I am not a shoes, handbag or clothes sort of girl so the odd quid here or there spent on a little treasure that makes me happy and won't break the bank , means a happy wife and ultimately him a happy husband too.  That's my logic anyway!

I must admit my darling girl found the most hideous deer ornament.. I tried to reason with her, but no she was adamant ...



She loved it ( she has a thing for deer and mice)  so it was bought for 50p on condition once washed it  stays in her bedroom!!!!

Remember the green Bon Bon dish I found this to sort of match...again 50p.
Slightly different shade of green, but lovely all the same...









This little sweetie 
is going to be turned into a pin cushion
I have seen these on various sites 
and are usually a few pounds 
More when changed into pin cushions
I bought her for £1


The lady there , in the warehouse is so friendly  and we have become quite frequent visitors  maybe once or twice a month......"yep" said husband "she sees you coming and wonders what tat she can
unload in your direction, that's why she smiles when she sees you!" I told you , he has no soul!!!
Though I did laugh because he is probably right and I bet she was joyous to get rid of the deer ornament ..."saw you coming" sprung to mind. Anyway she  had a nice little bag of good linen which
she had put to one side , she told me she thought I would be popping in sometime.  That was a
donation to the lifeboat charity bucket .
I now have a bin bag full of linen to be pre soaked, washed  , probably washed again and sorted .  At this rate we are going to be way on course to start making
some crazy vintage quilt things.  I can't decide if the linen or China are the most addictive!


I am not after any sympathy.... I am at that age when apparently things start to appear and go wrong like arthritis ..... (According to my big sister who I never argue with bless her !!).
especially if your in your late forties , female and there is a history of it in your family.  Tick all of those boxes for sure!

Do you remember the fingers, well now my knee wants to join in the fun!! I was wondering when it was and it must be about 4 years ago. One day I came home in the rain and pupster who was nearly
fully grown, anyway he was big, came spreeding  down the narrow hallway to give me his usual
greeting, (jumps up and gives me big wet licks!!!) anyway he slipped on the wooden floor and
crashed into my knee knocking it one way, the pain !!and within a second as we were both trying to
stand up and get our balance he slipped again, and smacked into it again with all his weight knocking
it the other way. Well I was breathless, you know that pain when your brain well it is trying to work
out what the hell you have done? It wasn't Dextie's  fault just one of those things...look at him who could be cross ?



Well to cut a long story short it took weeks for the swelling to go and it hasn't been right since. it gives way every now and then, but now when out and about I am wearing a support.  It feels like my fingers on a big scale and although I haven't been to the doctors since moving here , I think I need to and it probably needs to be X rayed and see what's going on.  Anyway in the meantime thankfully it isn't too painful just feels like it is going to "give way".   No big walks  for me for a while and no disco dancing for sure.


So I have a bit of a dilemma.  I was hoping for one or more raised beds this year but with husband
banned from any manuel work and my dodgy knee and hand I am wondering what to do.  I have already bought some seeds and have some huge tubs here and there so maybe I will just have to see.
It is early spring after all , things change , as long as I have some salads , toms and some kale in and
of course beans at least that will be something.  .  I have bought some seeds for micro greens and once I have made some space on the kitchen window ledge will be getting those going .  I have volunteered to start some extra tomatoes and herbs off for the new unit as they do lots of cooking too,
and I thought the kids would enjoy the smell of toms and herbs growing too.
    Nothing apart from daffs to show in the garden yet, even my tree lupin in a bit tub looks half dead .
 The mole is having a great time in my front garden
blinking thing.  This lot in the last two weeks again.  Some "helpful" soul told me you must have lots of worms in your garden, great I thought but my gardens are mainly borders and hedges, different matter if they were for veg!



Last count 23 mole hills !
Everyday at least one appears!!

The bird feeder came a cropper in the last high winds and landed the other side of the front garden so I need to either try to repair it or find a replacement.   Even with a dodgy knee never a dull moment here.

On Saturday, a blue sky bright day we took the kids and Dexter to Aberporth beach and had fish and chips for lunch overlooking the sea.  On the way home, not far from home we had a stand off with a rather large sheep, the lane was narrow and it squeezed past the car eventually. The next farm we stopped.  This is a lovely farm, and I knocked and told the farmer s he probably had a loose one as the markings on it were red and blue and I sort of remembered her sheep have the same.  She sent her son and his mate off on a buggy thing to recapture the sheep , which she thought was one of her Rams.  "Keeps getting out "  she told me "don't know how though". I joked he was probably feed up with all the
noise his offspring were making and needed a break...she laughed at that.  She asked if the kids
 wanted to go and have a peek in the lambing shed which of course they did.




 It was rather noisy
this distant picture is where the 
Ewes in various stages of labour 
were.



The farmer said this has been quite a unusual spring with so many triplet lambs being born.  More work and expense for her as those they can't get adopted by the ewes with only one lamb end up having to be bottle fed .  We stayed nattering for about 10 minutes (we did the same thing last year too) , as always she had some local gossip.

Afterwards home and a hour printing off some patterns , then picking out some fabric and just a lazy evening watching movies .  I need to get some bits made for fund raising for Little Miss' unit and a spring craft show.

Today the sun is shining and I may forget about the pile of ironing with my name on it and do some making instead... The dining room is awash with bright light seems a waste not to enjoy it.


Wednesday 9 March 2016

Organising and sorting craft stuff

I was woken up again for the umpteenth time (since last year) this morning with wind bashing our house ......goodness knows where it comes from.  I sat downstairs at some unnatural hour, how the other 3 sleep through it is beyond me,  I just seem to be such a light sleeper since having kids. I just give up now and get up.  There is always a plus  though,  we were going to go to Carmarthen today but went yesterday instead , on the spur of a moment sort of thing , so at least we are not travelling in it, though our little trip was very foggy and drizzly yesterday.  I used to time I got up so early to do some pleasant sorting.  More of that later in the post.

My blogging friend Kim (wisdom with needle and thread) http://wisdomwithneedleandthread.blogspot.com/ invites you all over to her blog to help her,celebrate her 60th birthday.  Kim is planning on sending out 60 "Random Acts of Kindness" throughout the year and would love it if you popped over and leave a comment,  you never know you may be picked.

Sorting out the cutting dies spurred me into having a light bulb moment.

I had these wardrobe hangers knocking about for some time and was on the verge of popping them into a charity bag when I thought , they would be ideal to store my card making supplies.  The hangers are double sided and in the past I used them to sort Little Miss' hair clips and bobbles and elastic. Little Man had one for his Thomas The Engine engines...  for kids pencils, pen etc and little toys they are great.

Well so far I have a washi tape hanger , card topper hangers , perle thread and sewing thread hangers but I intend to order a couple more.
One I am going to store my sewing machine bits like spare needles, bobbins etc  (again so I
can see at a glance what I have) I also want one to store craft bits like charms, yo yo and Pom Pom
makers...   The storage possibilities are endless, make up, nail varnish, bathroom bits like spare ear buds, soaps,  I also have one in my wardrobe where I store necklaces and scarves .



Perle threads



Sewing threads






Washi tapes




Card toppers


Yesterday I also stocked up on these...scrapbook split. rings..here this packet for £1.(The works) I had been racking my poor old brain for a cheap way/solution to link die cutting sets together and as these rings easily pull apart , problem solved.


Die cutting sets and sets with small dies are so easy to become separated .  You can buy magnetic
sheets but this can work out quite costly if you have a collection of dies.  I have begun now to ring my die sets in their newly numbered pockets...like this

Nothing like a spring tidy up of craft stuff to get the creative juices flowing.  It is so easy to forget
what you have isn't it?  This week alone I have been more inspired to do more .  Seeing everything I want so easily at hand is so much better for me, rather than my usual trick of trying to remember what I have and where to find it, usually by the time I find what I want I can't be bothered!

Oh and I found this little lovely in The Range...cute or what!

Right better get a wiggle on 
I have a couple of swaps and a 
present to post
before midday.
All the little shops and Post Offices 
close here by 1pm
on Wednesdays...




Sunday 6 March 2016

Spring is in the air

Happy Mother's Day , not just to the mum's and grandma's out there , but to great sisters, aunties, nieces  and cousins too.  I appreciate the gift of so many females in my family....some have been like a mum to me and my children too and likewise I hope I  have been there for girls(and boys of course)  in my family too.

Some weeks seem to whizz by and this week certainly has.

We had a WI lunch on Wednesday down in Llangrannog.  I had Cawl for the first time.  Cawl is a popular Welsh stew around these parts and is usually made with either, lamb, beef or bacon and root veg. It is served  piping hot with a lump of bread and cheese it went down rather well on a stormy day when storm "Jake" was giving us his worst!  The sea was very rough and the  promenade was littered with stones and pebbles ...I forgot to take pictures but with high winds I doubt I would have been able to hold a camera anyway as walking to and from the car park was very very windy!

The members of our group have a average age of 73!!! but the stories they tell are so interesting.One lady recounted how during early March 1965 Llangrannog was cut off for days due to heavy snow.  The landlady of The Pentre Arms pub daily took orders from the residents for milk, bread, essentials and medicines etc and  rang through to New Quay Lifeboat station . Then sometime the next day the lifeboat would bring all the supplies around the coastline for the residents , this happened every day the village was cut off.  On one occasion though the boat overturned and all the supplies were lost but thankfully no one on board was killed or injured.

Well back to the WI.
This book is worth a read.  This copy is doing the rounds in our group .













I do love looking back in history 
and especially love the outfits the ladies wore.
I think that's why I love period dramas...I love looking at the 
decor of the homes and especially 
the fashion at the time.

I wouldn't personally buy this book  , but it is worth borrowing from the library.

Well what else....... Not much making ..lots of list making though as I have 3 swaps to do ...I know I

am a rascal but I love them...and I am noting ideas down and maybe tomorrow I can make a start.


I have been looking for some simple projects for little miss to sew, things like tissue holders , purses etc  that she can make for the forthcoming craft fair.  Last weekend we can across some old linen in a charity shop.  I have washed them and as many have small holes, stains that won't come out ,  and therefore. cannot be used as they are we will cut them up and use them for a vintage feel to our makes.   Pinterest as always has been inspirational and I love seeing how many things vintage linen can be used to make things.


And of course I found a few bits too




China roses




a poppy jug (75p)




I think this is a Bon Bon dish (£1.50)
it was in perfect condition 
the gold on the pattern is as if it is new. 




This mug will join my tiny collect
brand new and only £1 !
I couldn't believe how cheap it was
but I gave in a bag of donations at the same time so didn't feel too 
guilty  buying it..



???????







Now I am not sure what this is 
maybe a bell pull? 
It is extremely dirty and in need of repair
and was only  50p!'
so I am going to give it a gentle hand wash 
with a fine paintbrush and see 
how I go from there.




and some new die cutters




I have lots of birthdays 
in the next few months so I thought
I would try to get some cards made
and these were all in a sale half price
so I thought why not!


My cutting dies have been in a terrible "mess" recently
so one afternoon I got a new 
exercise book .
I have listed all the dies in the book

1. So I don't duplicate any
2. So I can remember what I have !!

And I  then put then in various plastic folders
(Bought cheaply from the poundshop)
The folders are numbered 
(Much easier if you have themes like flowers, 
Christmas, shapes etc) 
and the folder number is listed beside each die 
in the index book
so in theory much easier to find 
each die when I need it.
(And more organised I hope)

Well that's me for now.
No snow here thankfully .
weather is very chilly .  loads of 
new born lambs 
can be heard in surrounding fields calling 
for their mothers.....
such a apt time to celebrate Mother's Day.
I do love Spring..