Easter catch-up

Well hello! It is the Easter hols here and what with work, the bears home from school and general life (cleaning/gardening/boring chores) type stuff, it has been pretty hard to find any time to sit down and write a blog post. Come evening time I just curl up on the sofa- maybe with my hook, maybe not.

Anyway, this here is a bit of a catch up post. I have had my sister-in-law and her brood staying too these hols and before work one day managed to snatch an hour or so on the beach with everyone:

It HURT having to present myself in theatres at 12.30, that's for sure!

Then, later in the hols, this is a snap of our dining room table:

The bears have been entertaining themselves. FHB has been writing Star Wars magazines in which he stars as Luke and/or good Anakin and Custard stars as Bad Anakin and/or Darth Vader. (The timeline is a little nebulous in these things). There has also been a great deal of pirate/Harry Potter/Merlin action and Mouse, bless her, has been trying to potty train Miss T. She has had as little luck as W and I.

Mouse has also been learning to weave and has made a beach scene. This morning Custard ripped the whole lot off the loom and I couldn't face restringing it all, so we declared it to be finished. I spent breakfast time knotting all the ends and threading it onto a chopstick, while Mouse chose some shells and sealife to attach to the fabric. Then I had some fun with my hot glue gun...Ta-daaaah:

I love it! Mouse loves it! We are all happy. FHB has decided he would like to learn to weave so that he can make a dinosaur scene. I think I may need more glue.

Meanwhile, W has done a load of work in the garden; we have shuffled and sorted and recycled all sorts of Stuff and cleared some of the teetering piles of Stuff from around the house; I have added a few stitches to my lion (not many, sadly) and have stared longingly at my sewing machine. There are cushion covers to be made and every day they go on the bottom of my to-do list, never to be reached. Never mind, there's always tomorrow.

Actually, there's not. I'm going to the beach!  x

Blossom blouses

I have been at work today and rather unexpectedly found myself staying an hour and a quarter late, having not had anything to eat or drink for eight hours (Such are the hazards of being a theatre nurse working with a cack-handed general surgeon). Anyway, I was so tired on the way home that, walking up our road, I noticed a small dog infront of me. Ooh, I think to myself, what a tiny dog. And from the back it really looks like a cat.

Guess what...

It was a cat.

I have had two cups of coffee, half a litre of water, an apple and a slice of homemade bread and butter, followed by an hours sit down. W is making me dinner. I am feeling more human!

***

(This, now, is the post I had intended to write):

A couple of weeks back Mouse and I had a sewing day. I made this:

for myself. It is the Blossom Blouse from this book. An excellent pattern, it knocks up in an hour if you apply yourself (and remember, I am Not Great at sewing).

Mine is made from a bit of cotton I got for 50p in a charity shop, and some Ikea calico leftovers. I did it as a trial run and made a few alterations as I went along- shortening the sleeves and gathering them, lengthening the body and flaring the hem a little more. I really love it and definately see more in my future, though I must add that this one did look better before I washed it and neglected to iron it!

Mouse saw one in her future too and presented me with her kitty fabric. She has been hoarding it since her birthday, waiting for the right moment.

As we had the machine out, I made a pair of pyjama bottoms for FHB too. He is always badgering me to make things for him, but the truth is that I am not an accomplished enough seamstress to make complicated boy things. I guess I shall have to practice! In the mean time, nice simple elasticated trousers seem to have pleased him. And just so he was not left out, I mended Custard's Darth Vader cloak and have promised him some shorts. It's great- he's four and still doesn't mind elasticated waists.

I guess I'll have to make something for W too. Hmm. Thinking....

x

Busy Bee

In among the lovely things we did with the bears this weekend, I managed to get a few hours at my sewing machine and with my hooks. Bliss!

I made the Trapeze Dress from this book, with a charity shop duvet cover:

I made a little pillowcase tunic for Miss T, from this excellent book by Soulemama. Though next time I would make it a lot longer and put in much chunkier box pleats as Miss T is such a slight little thing.

(Rubbish photo I know- She's two and won't stand still).

And I made another slightly tweaked pillowcase dress for Mouse, with the proviso that it is for beach and height of Summer wear only. So naturally she will prance around in it on windy, rainy days as she is incapable of dressing appropriately. I shall tell her off whilst being ever so pleased that she likes it. That is how it works!

I am really pleased with my weekend makes, especially my dress as I have never made anything that complicated before. And W says I do NOT look like a bag lady dressed in a duvet cover in it. So I think that is a success.

Hooky-wise, I finished my pouffe! Turned out I only had another couple of rounds to do on it. Typical. so have lopped the buttons off the pouffe and made a mental note to acquire some duct tape for a little rudimentary repair work, then I ran some elastic through the bottom of the cover and knotted it really tightly underneath the pouffe.

And there you have it:

Easy peasy! Though I think I will probably make a fleecy jacket to go under the crochet cover. We'll see- much depends on how destructive my dear children are feeling.

So I end the weekend with the happy feeling of having Finished something, and the promise of being able to wear something I have made.

And I have finished the first sleeve of my green cardi too! Very Pleasing Indeed.

x

Cold crochet catch-up

Wow it is cold here today! Miss T and I have done our out-and-about jobs in record time and are now hunkering down in the living room wih CBeebies (her) and a good book (me), some raisins and biscuits (her) and some chocolate (me- it's early, I know, but needs must). We have hot milk, hot coffee (lashings of) a warm cat and a new blanket to snuggle under:

I also have a pile of crochet to be getting on with. My pouffe cover is growing (a collection of words I never thught I'd string together!)

My cardi is about a third done:

And I have started whipping up granny squares in the hope of making a blanket. I do not know if I have the staying power...

I will leave you with a photo of Custard being a multicultural storm trooper. I am looking forward to this afternoon's dressing up ensembles, as a large and very promising parcel has just arrived for Custard from my sister-in-law. x

Notes on crafting

Here are Mouse's skirts, Miss T's trousers (which I must admit started off for Custard, but I got the sizing very wrong) and my little purse:

Several things to note:

:: I am Very Bad at taking photos. Even when using W's posh camera. Must work on this. (W is rubbish too, I would add).
:: I can only sew in straight lines. And do elasticated waistbands.
:: I can do zips though. Funny.
:: I am currently working on a quilt. Made of squares.
:: A real quilter would be horrified at the slapdash nature of my work. Having four marauding bears and little time means I am of the 'that'll do' school of crafting rather than the perfectionist school.
:: I would quite like to be perfectionist. I am very critical about what I make. When I see things I have made, having not seen them for a while, I am usually dead chuffed with them and cannot believe I Did That.

I went to my most local of local charity shops today. It is fab! It genuinely smells of wee and has the old ladiest of stuff in it. The lady behind the counter is so scoliosed that she sits with her head resting on the counter. Today I felt Really Guilty because, as it was raining, she had brought her scooter into the shop, which meant I could not get in with my buggy. I said that it was okay, I'd come back another day, but she insisted on moving it. It took her five minutes to do it and involved moving two displays and knocking over a table. I tried to help- honest- but you can't move someone else's mobility scooter for them can you?

So then I felt that I had to buy something because she had gone to so much effort. I was drawn to a 70s coffee set, but have nowhere to put it, so I bought four packets of buttons, a Beano annual and a fabulous A-Z book of crafts that is the same age as me...

::Must try macrame again...x

Good Stuff

I know! Monday morning and I have nothing but good things to say! (This despite the cat pooing all over the lounge last night. We had throw away one of our ancient Ikea baby quilts. But hey- I'll have to make a new quilt. Yay! An excuse to sew!)

Four exclamation marks in one paragraph. And relax...

Well this weekend we discovered a new hobby. Geocaching. You go onto a website, you upload co-ordinates to some sort of GPS thingy (the technical stuff is not down to me) then you go off and treasure hunt. It is Ace. We spent all day out on Saturday tootling around searching for treasure. We couldn't find the first cache we were after- it was under a bridge and neither W nor I fancied grubbing around under there. But we did find a fab charity shop where I got these:

('Scuse the rubbish photos- it is grey and dull here today. Not complaining mind).
They fit perfectly, they've hardly ever been worn and they were £4.50. Result.

We then went out to our local nature reserve where, while Miss T was snoring loudly and I was confined to the car with her, W and the big bears went off and found a cache of treasure. I was going to photo what they found, but apparently you are supposed to be a bit secretive about it all, so I'm not allowed. We have to rehide the treasure another day in a new spot. The kids were So Thrilled and now think they are 'splorers.

After all this we were a bit peckish, so despite it blowing a gale, we bought fish and chips and sausages and sat on the beach. It was FREEZING. Miss T went purple. I had to chase a pie wrapper along the coast for quite some way and Mouse and Custard were astounded that grass can grow on the sand. Shock and horror.

Then we came home and went FLOP in our chairs. Turns out Star Wars was on on Saturday. I own three different copies of Star Wars, but yet we are all still compelled to watch it when it is on TV. Even with ad breaks.

Just a lovely day.

On Sunday we began with a full English (So Good) and the day carried on being great. Custard and I made flapjacks, W went on a restorative bike ride, I had an hour on the wii (didn't weigh myself, didn't want to spoil the day), FHB was allowed an hour on the DS as a reward for being a Pleasant Human Being this week, and Mouse and I made a skirt for her and a quick pair of trousers for Miss T:

(Mouse had a go with my camera too. Standing on the table. I find it best not to look).
At some point I'll blog some photos of the finished skirt and trousers in their giraffey glory, but right now Mouse has squirrelled her skirt away and I can't find it, and Miss T-oilet training promptly weed (wee-ed/weeed?) on her trousers so they are in the wash.

Poor FHB is desperate to learn to sew, so I think this afternoon may hold cushion covers for us.

Lastly, W broke the last of our Tooting pound shop pasta bowls. We bought them 13 years ago when we were first together living in university halls of residence:

In my current state of karmic trust and relaxation I have decided to see this as a Good Thing. A sign of better, proper grown-up things to come (at thirty-five!) This does not stand up to scrutiny, but I am still smiling anyway.

Hope you had a good weekend too...x

Monday catch-up

After a busy weekend during which we saw lots of friends, ate lots of wonderful food and did little else, I find myself here- Monday morning. I had one of those dreadful nights last night where although I clearly slept, it doesn't feel like it at all and the morning has crept up on me far too quickly. Added to this, Miss T is a bit too pink in the face and hot in the body today, so I think a quiet time will be had this morning:

I have a whole load of things to be getting on with this week as Miss T will turn two years old on Saturday and there are Things to be made before then. Mouse wants to make her a skirt, so fabric has been bought- more of that later. I have some crochet to finish:

(I have realised having loaded these pics up that neither of them are anything to with Miss T's birthday! There is a whole pile of crocheted stuff for that, but I'll have to show you tomorrow. The top pic here is a stack of Melody Griffith granny triangles ready to be starched and made into bunting. The bottom is my jumper. It is So Nearly Finished, but I had to frog half a sleeve because I had forgotten a rib. After looking at it for a few days I decided I couldn't live with it like that. And also, my Mum told me to redo it, and who am I to argue?)

A card to make:

(How fab is the paper? I am not a scrapbooker, but they do get good kit!)
And a cake to think about. My children are usually very particular about what they expect from a birthday cake, so I am waiting with interest to hear what they expect of me!

Sadly, before all the fun stuff I need to tackle a weekend's worth of laundry, recycling and action-figures-in-unexpected-places.

Have a fun Monday...x

A reminder to self

In amongst all the I hate yous and You're the meanest Mummy evers it can be very easy to forget about how lovely my bears can be. I was brought up short this morning when flicking though my camera as I came across these (fairly rubbish) photos of things I made with them at the weekend. It is only four days ago, but yet I had completely forgotten about dressing up and pirate ships and fairies. How dreadful is that?!

So here, as a reminder to me, are the pics. They make me smile:

That's better...x

New Toy!

Look what I found in The Works:

Goodness me but I have had FUN with this! It is quite possible I am going to engrave EVERYTHING in my house!

FHB had a go too- Cwistmas Cwafting has officially begun!

x

All is quiet...

It has been a quiet and peaceful week here in the land of the wild bears. Since parents evening we have all been making a big effort to behave ourselves- less shouting, more being patient, kind and pleasant to each other. Goodness me the house is a far more enjoyable place to be!
We asked FHB to write his class rules on the board in our kitchen and now whenever anyone is not behaving themselves we stop and ask whether we are following The Rules:

In addition, as my exam is OVER (!) I feel as if I am back in the building again, available to entertain, pay attention to, and even feed my kids. It has been lovely all round I think. We have made bead necklaces:

This was a birthday present to Mouse from her best friend, but, bless them, the boys wanted to make necklaces too. So we did.

And we've made flowers. Another Mouse gift, with glue this time! She and Custard had a lot of fun building these and she has put them proudly on her bedside table. I suggested the bookshelf in the living room so I could look at them too because they do make me smile, but she said that they were hers and she wanted share them only with Bumby (her rabbit). So there you are.

I have spent my none mothering moments Reading (Oh how I have missed Books! Real ones, not text books! With a story and everything!) and as I had a Kindle for my birthday I have been gorging myself on a mixture of e-reading and hard copy books, three on the go at once, just like the old days. I have also found the time to finally make FHB's hat:

And have received rather a lot of gratifying comments about it from ladies of a certain age. It is the lion hat from Inside Crochet, Issue 6.

Here is Mouse's hat (my pattern, with most of a small snowball flower from Nicky Epstein):

And Custard's hat (Crochet today, September/October 09):

I am under orders to make some fangs and eyes for it now he has seen his brother's finished hat.

I have also started a baby jumper. Not for me!

And managed to replenish my homemade cards stock, fuelled by much rum and black and a very fine lamby dinner made by W.
So there you are, a quiet, enjoyable week. FHB is much nicer, my throat does not hurt as I am much quieter and a great deal less stressed, the bears are all playing games- no telly, no computer games, just good old fashioned low tech cards and fuzzy felt. So relaxing...

x

Cat and Mouse

On Friday, with Custard and Miss T safely in the custody of my in-laws (Custard was sick 5 times in their car on the way- glad it was their car for a change), I sat down and did some serious revision. At lunchtime, complete with a serious case of brain-freeze, I collected Mouse and FHB from school and we headed down to the beach for hot donuts and hot chocolate.

It has to be said that while I missed my two babiest babies hugely, it was a great deal easier just taking two bears to the beach. FHB pretended to roll in:

and I got told off by a very elderly man who was concerned for FHB's welfare. I did tell him that I would indeed hop into the estuary to retrieve my son, should he roll in, but the boy is like a monkey- no chance of him rolling in unless he wanted to.

The council has finally repaired the cliff lift, so we had a trip in that too:

Then we went home and I made Stuff with Mouse. Well, Mouse made stuff and I threaded a needle for her and sewed on two buttons- she did everything else herself:

 



Look!!!!!!!!!!

I am just so proud of her! She has carried her little bag around all weekend and is very pleased with herself indeed.

And I feel all fired up and full of enthusiasm and ideas for things to make myself. Just got to get through this exam tomorrow afternoon!

x