Trees! Trees! Trees!

Whoops! I wrote this a couple of days ago and forgot to post it. Well I say I forgot; the net was so slow that I waited so long for it to do it stuff that I ran out of time and I needed sleep. I promised myself I would post it the next day……but forgot! So he is the post!

 

Good evening. Just taking a break from the marking! I was sifting through my pictures of the years makes and I realised that there was one particular item that seems to crop up again and again.

Trees for Christmas……

Trees for Easter…..

Trees for Summer and…..

Trees for Winter.

These trees have been very popular as you can see, and I seem to be constantly asked to make ‘just one more’! Not that I am complaining as they look really sweet nestled on a book shelf or in the middle of a dinner table.

Guess what I have been making today!

P.S. We are now onFacebook- Ickle Ed at a year on the make ………pop on by and give us a like!

 

And the winner is……..

Good morning, afternoon or evening.

How are we all? I have to make a huge apology……I haven’t given the results of the give away!

Time has simply run away with me, and here we are the middle of the week again.

So here we go……..

I included all the names of people who have emailed me or left a comment about the Olympic give away. (There are quite a few of you who are dreadfully shy!)

These were placed in an appropriate container……….

….and Roo picked one out.

And the winner is………

Congratulations Julie. Please can you email me with your address details and your prize will be rushed to you.

Thank you to everyone who commented or emailed me with your Olympic stories.

See you later.

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Give away reminder

Good morning, afternoon or evening.

Where has the time gone? 16 days ago I started the Olympic giveaway, and here we are on the final day.

Just to remind you it is not too late to enter all you have to do is to comment on any of the posts that I have made since the giveaway launch about what you viewed and where you were in the world during the olympics,  how you celebrated the Olympics, or how you avoided it all. It is your chance to win this…….

 

One of my Union flag cushions.

All names will be placed in a hat and the lucky winner will be drawn from a hat tomorrow evening. (We thought this would be better as it allows for the time difference around the world.)

Someone has got to win so have a go, and good luck.

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Days 126-134: One patch at a time.

Good morning/ afternoon/ evening! How are we all? We are all fine here, in fact we are getting rather excited as Summer is upon us…..Hurrah! Yes the sun is shining and we are all in our summer gear that has lain for many a month at the bottom of the wardrobe.

I can’t believe that it is actually a week since I last posted. Naughty me. Last week went so fast. as the last week of term always does. Concerts, assemblies, collective worship, own clothes days and disco’s all seemed to fill my days. I sat in the evenings with my crafting project, (which you will see in a minute), and wondered where the time was going.

And so the holidays are here. Children are baying to be entertained. Honestly I do not know how they would cope without a TV! When I was younger the children’s programmes finished at 10 am and we had to amuse ourselves throughout the day. Boo asked me if I was born in Victorian times when I explained that there were no such things as videos let alone DVD’s, I player or Nintendo WII’s when I was his age! Cheeky monkey!

We have had a Fab day today in Konk! I have to explain that this is a pet name for York. Roo has trouble with some words and he knew there was a K in it somewhere. When asked where he was going some time ago, he replied with ‘Konk’! The name has stuck.

The sun shone all day for our stolen excursion. We had a gorgeous lunch. Visited Jorvik viking museum, leaving with bows, arrows, daggers and a sword. (Heaven help us!) Then it was a boat ride on the Ouse. Always a lovely treat when it is not raining. Finally the Castle Museum. This is a particular Favourite of mine, as I remember visiting for the first time with my Grandad. I also remember snagging my tights on a seat in the Edwardian pub! The smell of the sweet shop in the Victorian street brings back memories of me waving to Grandad through the window as he peered inside. Bows, arrows, daggers and a sword were firmly placed back in carrier bags for this visit. Then back home, on a delayed train, to be met by DH who had to work today. (Hence the stolen excursion!) Hot, tired and ready for a cup of coffee, we enthused about our day…..to a grumpy DH!

So I am just catching my breath and revving up for the make of the day.

You will no doubt remember the organising that I was doing last week in preparation of the next big project. Well this has certainly gathered pace.

I have begun with the blue as this is the largest colour. I wanted to make sure that I had divided the different patches equally between the eight blue sections. This meant that I had to share the patches out, bag them up ready. Talk about faff!

I set to, to make the first section of the blue. I’m not sure if I told you, but I love patchwork! Seeing all the colours working their magic together is fabulous. It soon became apparent that I needed to start on the white and red too. Having completed the first blue section, I want to make sure that it fits together like a jigsaw. I don’t want a repeat performance of ‘Blast it’! So I set to again with the scissors.

White, red and more blue patches ready to be made into hexagons. I have also cut more card templates ready for covering. It is definitely full steam ahead. And I am loving every minute of it. I hope I will be back very soon to show you an update.

See you later.

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PS. DH has read the above and told me off for calling him grumpy. So I will put it another way…….perturbed at not being included in the trip to ‘Konk’, as he had to work, DH was quiet and a little disinterested at our enthusiam for our stolen day out. (Is that better DH?)

Day 94- Very, very excited!

Good evening.

I hope you have had a good day. It has been very busy here…with a very early start. (Thanks Roo!) But we had a very exciting package delivered to us very early this morning too. Guess what? THE TICKETS ARE HERE!

What tickets I hear you ask? These tickets……………

Woo Hoo! I must admit that I have not been as excited as the rest of my brood until now. It’s official…we are going! It’s little things like this that make my heart skip, and then I have a lovely feeling all day. I am glad these arrived first thing this morning.

Now these have been locked up in Fort Knox as DH is worried that they will get pinched! I’m not sure that anyone will be risking imprisonment for our tickets however as they are not for the Atheletics…..we couldn’t get those. They did however cost the same amount as a small car, so I think he may have a point!

So exciting start to the day completed, how did the rest pan out.

Well you know what it is like when you come back from a trip. Bags are unpacked, washing commences, and things are just out of place and higgledy piggledy. That is how the house has been since Monday. Bags have been waiting for towels and holiday stuff to be washed before they can be put away. Other bags have been waiting to be unpacked and the contents fed into the washing machine. souvenirs are still a novelty litter the floor. I have to admit to it driving me mad. I think that this disorganisation has had some impact on my lethargy as far as my making is concerned. There has been so much to get on and do I cannot justify sitting and making when I can so so much else that needs doing.

Spurred on by the arrival of our tickets, and the welcome arrival of a few rays of sunshine, I was determined to vanquish the washing pile and get the house in order. It was delicious to be able to hang out things on the line. We seem to be in the eye of the rainstorm however, as more monsoons are forecast for tomorrow and the weekend. But make use of the lull I did.

I can now say that I am sitting in a sort of straight house. DH and myself have pulled a load of plaster off the conservatory wall however. It was hanging off…..and DH did most of it! something for me to focus on tomorrow?

Anyway; I managed to sit down this afternoon and do a bit of stitching.

Do you remember this…………..

Yes my first Gah! If you remember it took me all afternoon, and about six attempts to get this far. Mum agreed with me too. I think her words were…..”Not up to your usual standard of stitching.” Well not being very happy with it at all, I took it apart and put the plant pot aside for another day. Well today was the day!

As you know I have made lots of crocheted flowers before, but I felt like using something a little different. I am not usually a big fan of felt as if it is not cut correctly it can really make the finished item look iffy. But I have been experimenting with flowers. I showed them to you yesterday. Well using a range of colours, I came up with this………………..

Tadah! I think this looks so much better than my first flower pot……What do you think Mum?

Now I’ll be honest with you. These little flowers take an age to make, 10 to 15 minutes for each one. As there is 15 on this flowerpot you can imagine how long this has actually taken, and that is just the stitching. But I absolutely love it.

It stands about 25cm tall, and it is weighted in the base with clay. What is it for I hear you ask? Oh you are asking me lots of questions today! Well, I thought that this would be perfect for our outside table…..if we ever get to sit outside. Our back garden can be notoriously breezy…..particularly in an evening, delicious breezes flowing from the rolling hills. Table cloths lift in the breeze knocking everything over. Such a crime to lose a nice glass of wine when a cheerful little plant pot can weigh the cloth down. Hurrah!

I really enjoyed myself today. I have lots of ideas now wafting about my head for future makes too. I think the making Mojo is back! Woo Hoo! 🙂

See you tomorrow.

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Day 59

Good evening folks. Is it really Thursday again?

I had to stop today and look about me. I have been so immersed in getting ready for the fair this Saturday….(Baslow, Derbyshire, 10am – 4.30pm would love to see you!) , and sorting the monsters out, that I had not noticed how dusty everywhere had become! So it was on with the marigolds and out with the mop and bucket, Pledge and dusters. Worked up quite a sweat as it was quite warm here today in the rolling hills.

There is something quite nice about sitting in a tidy house. It is very calming. It is a time when you wish that somebody would call round, obviously leaving the house with the impression that it is always neat and tidy! Unfortunately I was thwarted with that today, as visitors arrived while I was in the thick of it……Bah! Never the less I had an enjoyable half hour without cushions being crumpled, throws being pulled off the sofas, Picasso’s next masterpiece left on the coffee table, shoes and socks being left by the front door and DVD’s  littering the floor.

Then the monsters came home…and I have to start all over again tomorrow! Curses!

I had put all of the sewing back into the conservatory, ready for me to sort out. I was dreading going in there as there was all manner of things that I had to finish before Saturday. When DH came home all my excuses for putting off sorting it all out literally ran out the open door. The time had come to face it!

Actually it was quite enjoyable…a bit like when facing a pile of marking; banging your head against a wall is preferable to starting it, but then once started, it is fantastic to find out that what you wanted the children to learn has been accomplished! There has been lots to do. Want to see?

I started off by making these………

…..these were what I couldn’t finish on Monday night. I still have 2 more small ones to make, but I can’t face doing those tonight.

After I had made these I needed to do this……..

 Can you see it tucked in there. Yes labels had to be sewn into all the baskets.

….as you can see I have made quite a few!

 In fact: two extra large, three large, two small bread baskets and three coffee pot covers have been made by my own lily white hands! So you can see why I cannot face making two more small ones tonight!

Anyway, I need to press on. Somewhere under a huge pile of clean washing is my bed. I can just about hear it calling to me….it’s a bit muffled as it’s a big pile of washing! I need to sort all that before I can retire.

Good night all, and see you tomorrow!

xxxxx

Day 58- Post 1

Good Morning.

A very quick post to show the finished product from yesterday.

A Jubilee tree. :-). (Please ignore the paint line along our shelf……this is a mundane make that I have to do…paint the wall!)

I love these little trees. They use Suffolk Puff patchwork….now referrd to as yoyo’s for some reason! Or are they Suffolk puff when they have been padded? Answers on a postcard to………

See you later.

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Day 56- Post 2

Good evening.

I have to admit to be exhausted tonight. Bank holidays!  Having three children to entertain really takes its toll. The problem is the wide age gap from the oldest to youngest. They each have their own interests, and all three have their own opinions!

We settled on going to the cinema….until I checked up on what was showing. The only thing suitable for all ages was Beauty and the Beast in 3d. Two boys objected most strongly, and Moo just said

‘Beauty and the Beast! I’m nearly 12 you know!’ I took it as a no!  So what to do? The arguments continued and squabbles nearly set in for the day…until I suggested we go to buy a DVD and set up a cinema at home.

So off we set to the supermarket. Now the only way to shop when we are en mass is to ram raid…not literally, but to dive in, run round like lunatics and get out again as soon as possible. It’s best for everyone concerned…especially our fellow shoppers. Wherever we go there is always lots of noise you see. So on our arrival we split. The littlies went to the toy aisle, while I collected the groceries together.

By the time I met up with the monsters, they were proudly holding up the film that was to become our cinema night. So we set off home, listening to Boo’s new CD…Moshie Monster’s and the proud owners of Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked!

On arrival I decided that I needed to complete the days make, and to take my mind of the evenings entertainment.

As you can see I have adjusted the bread basket design…and made it bigger!

I love this fabric! I seem to have made a lot out of it over the past few weeks.

These bread baskets are quite a bit bigger than the last load that I made. They are deeper too. I need to think whether they need press studs on them, like the previous batch…I made these in a slightly different way

I decided to do coffee pot covers for this fair too.

… I have got other baskets to make in this fabric..but not today.

Well we have watched Alvin and the Chipmunks. Not as bad as ‘Hop’, but I could have used the hour and twenty minutes in a better way.

Anyway got to go. I need to get uniforms organized for tomorrow…and the Rooster has fallen asleep waiting for Daddy. I did tell him DH would not be coming back today, but as I said at the beginning, all my children have their own opinions!

See you tomorrow

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Day 54

Good afternoon.

I don’t know about your day, but mine has been a bit of a damp squiB. Have you ever woken up feeling as though you have never been asleep? That is how I felt this morning!

It was delicious to see the sun streaming into the conservatory…but a headache started and just would not go away.

Despite this I wanted to get started straight away as it being a Saturday, the children were at home so we needed to get out and wear ourselves out. I had started a project that you have seen an inkling of over the last week, and I wanted to get it finished quickly….how wring I was! In total this project has taken over 5 hours to complete. Want to see what all the fuss is about? …….

Most of you will be saying ‘very nice’ (I hope!) The fact is, these have taken at least half an hour for each flag, 1.5 metres of ribbon per flag, and a lot of concentration! Is it any wonder I have got a headache! So what are they for?

Well, it’s to be used later on this month.

TADAH!  …………  Jubilee Bunting!

My idea was to do loads of this for the sale next week. Forget it! And if I decide to take this set with me (which I absolutely love) the price tag will be 10 million pounds. 🙂

Anyway; head is throbbing, so I shall see you tomorrow.

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Day 52- The Crookes Bus!

Good evening!

I am proud to tell you that I am sitting in what can be described as a sort of tidy house. 🙂 I have to admit that this making malarky does take up a fair bit of time, and we have so much stuff in our little house, that things can easily become a bit jumbled. (This is the point where my mum and Ter Lou fall into hysterical laughter at the thoughts of our house just having a few coasters in the wrong place!)

Well come on folks…there are five of us that live here, all with our own agendas and hobbies. At least four of us are allergic to dusters, and we have a five year old that refers to the phrase ‘tidying up’ as ‘naughty words’. (Taught him by his brother).

Looking around this morning I was ready for a fight! I had awoken again with stomach cramps, and so knowing that I would not be able to venture far from home, I set about diverting my frustrations into hammering the house into shape.

I am sick of seeing:

•  pieces of paper with a line drawn on it that claims to be the next Van Gogh masterpiece
•  Moshie Monster cards
• lids from the top of yoghurt pots hidden behind chairs
• receipts from Sainsburies that we must keep in case we need to return something (I ask you!)
• pamphlets and bits of paper from a certain persons travels
• socks stuffed under chairs
• Trainers! Size 10!
• Newspapers that we have to keep because there is an interesting article in it
• Lip gloss
• McDonald’s toys that turn up everywhere…we haven’t been for about a year!
• Toy story, Marvin’s magic tricks, Skylander etc….toys that get everywhere but have strict instructions that they stay in the largest bedroom in the house.

Well all the paper was bagged up and chucked 🙂 Hurrah!

The shoes were hidden in certain places. They can try and find them! Hurrah!

Same with the lip gloss!

….and two monsters were told that their toys were to be put away…or the black sack will be coming out. I’ll let you know about this one!

I did find loads of old lottery tickets too. Apparently they had all been checked, but I checked again just in case. Good job. On one of the tickets we had four numbers and when I cashed it in this PM I discovered I had won £57! HURRAH!

So I had a sort of tidy house. Money in the bank and coffee in front of me. Harmony has been restored, and I could finally get on with some making.

So what did I get up to?

A summer patchwork bag! Made with lots of my favourite Laura Ashley prints. (I bet Mrs Higgins likes these prints too!)

I also got started on this project too……..

Now I wonder what this could be for? But not just one………

….a collection of interesting little patchwork.

Well, you will have to tune in tomorrow to find out what they are going to be made into. That is if my machine plays nicely. I spoke to soon yesterday about ‘fixing’ it. ‘It’ had other ideas today. Bah!

Anyway my lovelies, the tummy is still hurting and I need my bed. See you tomorrow.

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