I'm IN and I'm OUT!

So let me explain the post title...

I've been fighting techo-gremlins for the last few weeks as I could do everything on the computer except sign in to my blog! Boo Hiss! (It's panto time!).   But finally I'm IN!  Please excuse excessive exclamation marks and beware - there will be more.

I was going to regale you with our Christmas and wish you all the merriment of the season but I'll just limit this to "Hope you all had a fantastic time and overdid absolutely everything xxx"

The Girl Genius and Miss Peach Pudding share a new activity book on Christmas Day

May I introduce you to my new Best Friend...

Okay, so I love books - the feel, the smell, the way you can drop them and not break them... but oh, I do love my new Kindle Fire too!  My MP3 has worn out so I can have my music on this too instead of buying another.  I'm still learning how to use it properly but I have downloaded a couple of knitting books to work the patterns from the KF instead of losing bits of paper down the back of the chair.

Now for the OUT bit... this is the news I mentioned many moons ago in my last post.  I have been approved for voluntary redundancy from my job.  I'll admit that I'm 59 and had been looking forward to official retirement at 60 when the Government in its infinite wisdom decided to up the age for women.  At the last check I found I was just fifteen days over the limit of earlier retirement and my official time would be at 65!  Last straw, as you may guess.  Work is not going that well at the moment for many of us in local government and when enhanced VR was offered I grabbed it.  I should be leaving at the end of January 2013.

A challenge, then.  I can't sit and veg - there are too many interesting things out there.  Vintage fairs, travel, crafting, sewing, knitting (oh, and babysitting, cleaning, ironing, etc, etc).  As yet I haven't thought everything through and need a bit of time to regroup.

 I hope to be doing lots more of this.  My new Debbie Abrahams blanket book has inspired me.

I will keep you up to date with my retired adventures, I hope, in the coming months.  In the meantime may I wish you all 

A VERY HAPPY, PROSPEROUS AND PEACEFUL NEW YEAR!

It's been sooooo long...

Honestly, I'm such a rubbish blogger at the moment.  I didn't realise how long ago my last post was!  

I'm awaiting some news, anyway, and if it happens I may have more time to chat to you lovelies out there and even write something of interest.

I would just like to leave you with a few photos to remind you that I'm still here!

Here is Miss Peach Pudding who is growing up so fast (I nearly typed "fat" instead of "fast" in a Freudian way, but actually now she's walking she's not such a pudding these days)

The Girl Genius is 4 (yes, four!) next week and will soon be cleverer than me.

A couple of recent knitty things:

I know it's not summer but I just had to make this strawberries and cream tea cosy...

... and then went a bit bonkers with freeform knitting and crochet all over my dressmaking dummy!

 That's all for now, but I'll be back - promise xxx

Did I show you these dolls?

I rootled out some stuff ready for a Christmas fair and re-discovered my cloth dolls from last year (or was it the year before?).  I sold one of the four I made and these are the three remaining.  They all have little wings as they want to be fairies when they grow up.

Please ignore the wording, the pics are set up for my Carrad facebook page.

  This is my arty shot of the ladies. 

What do you think they should be called?

Wols

Owls are so popular fashionwise at the moment that I couldn't resist buying this jersey dress from a vintage shop in Lincoln.

Hoot Hoot!

 

Cake, Yarn and Teasets

Once again A Good Yarn (almost my other home!) came up with the goods for a great cause.  To link up with the MacMillan World's Biggest Coffee Morning Kate had us make cakes and bring our never-to-be-used stash for a yarn swap.  I picked up some purple Crofter DK and a fab bundle of something with a lovely mix of mossy greens, ochres and teals ... both of which I forgot to photo!

 I made mixed nut slices and courgette, cinnamon and walnut cake.  I think they must have been scrummy because people ate them without grimacing.

Kate's friend (and friend of the shop) Michelle, had a collage canvas made for Kate's birthday.  It's the most fabulous heart, shaped from hundreds of little snaps of things relating to A Good Yarn.  There are yarns, created items, knitters, family members, the shop and its surrounds, Millie the cutest little dog and the shop's logo right in the middle.  Definitely the WOW factor!

 Yummy yarns in the swap.  Actually I lied when I said I hadn't photographed my yarn - it's left centre and bottom centre in the photo on the left.

And finally ... more from the cupboards of my lovely mum.

This is the most gorgeous Wedgewood tea set called, I think, something like Summer Sky.

 Here on my growing blankie is a selection of a second tea set which perfectly matches the colours of the blankie.  How serendipitous is that?

Have a fab week and try to stay dry.  xxx

Suitcase of Treasures

I have been sorting the last of mum's belongings and found a suitcase of treasures.

Here is the suitcase...

... containing another suitcase...

 ... and in this suitcase...

...are treasures!

These include:

 A 1950's/60's fruit dish and molecular-style shelf unit

 Two hideously cute reproduced paintings of children.  Fortunately not from our family!

 Are you old enough to remember these?

 A tealeaf dispenser, with a still-working lever

 A NEW AND UNUSED 1970's Welsh tapestry handbag and matching purse

 Curlers, Richard Hudnut end papers and Twink lotion for that lovely perm

 A tin Flexolite box containing old, old playing cards and small notebooks, plus two unused George VI stamps

 A Victorian set of nursery rhyme playing cards.  Older readers - don't you think Mother Hubbard looks like Arthur Askey in drag as a pantomime dame?

 A leather sewing kit, complete with needles and threads

 As above

 Two 1970's lippies in scary shades by Revlon and an equally scary 70's Avon scent bottle.  The perfume is still in there too, but pheeeewww!

Hope you enjoyed this trip down Memory Lane, lovelies x

HELP!

Help!

Apparently I have used up my quota of photos and can't upload any more for my blog.  I don't really want to have to start paying for more room, but can't work out how to delete old ones off Picassa.

Has anyone else had this problem?  I should be very grateful for any tips from you blog techno-savvy lovelies out there!

Thank you xxx

Scarf Time

It's getting colder, but I have a few new scarves to keep people warm.

 

 

 

Keep warm, lovelies!

Goodbye, Bridget

Our beautiful little dog went to sleep this morning.   She was 14 and very poorly.  Mr C is heartbroken and I've been having a sob in private so I don't upset him any more.

I hope she's sitting with my mum and they're keeping each other company.

The Girl Genius ...

... is back to school

My Making Chair

This is where I sit to knit, crochet, sew, read, watch TV and generally pass time, as opposed to doing anything other people might consider useful.

Cosy nighttime

Bright daytime

Think I'll head there now!

A Small Person Activity and A Big Person Knit

I love pot painting shops but at the end of a long summer hol, funds are dwindling for keeping small people occupied.  The Girl Genius was just as happy painting a jar at home, and so was I.  It's really easy, fun and cheap!  See below.  I know you clever crafters will have lots more ideas to embellish a jar once the contents have been scoffed.  I used to make very fancy art jars and loved doing them.

This is my completed effort from the Scarfathon (see last post).  There's an horrendous mistake in there but on this occasion I left it.  Yes, I know it's not good but I weighed up the desire for perfection next to the act of being arsed to do it, and I was found wanting...

 Mmmmm, my current favourite beverage.  I must admit I feel like dabbing a bit behind my ears before drinking!

Slurp! x

Pinky Pinkness

This weekend I attended a Strawberry Tea and Scarfathon.  It was very pink.

 It was organised by the lovely Kate at A Good Yarn to raise funds for Breast Cancer research and was a roaring success with around £500 collected.

For a mere £10 we had a wonderful tea involving scones, cream, jam, strawberries and a myriad of delicious home-made cakes as well as copious quantities of tea and coffee, PLUS the yarn to make a pink scarf!  There were ten choices of scarf and I thought I would take up the challenge of making something with a lacy-type pattern - after all it was a very small challenge compared to that of the women facing a battle with breast cancer.  This lovely coral above is the start of my work.  Hopefully I'll be able to show you the completed item one day!

I have also finished a new freeform bag...ta-da!

 And...two hats for Miss Peach Pudding.

Anyone would think I do nothing but knit.  Honest, the occasional duster is flicked round the house, and I did make cherry and apple jam the other day.  Some days I even go to work!

I bought two books last week... craft ones, naturally...

thebookpeople.co.uk

dailymail.co.uk

 They are both full of so many wonderful projects I hardly know where to start!

Have a great week, hope the sun shines for you xxx

UPDATE: Just had to add that the Strawberry Tea and Scarfathon didn't make the hoped-for £500 - it made £689!!!  Well done, everyone!