In recovery

Sorry I've been quiet for a week. I have had the worst illness I've experienced in quite a while. Not flu, but some sort of virus, and it completely knocked me out. Literally. I actually spent 3 days in bed which I never do when I'm ill. I usually still try and get up and potter around.

I did make it out on the Cotswolds trip, but was starting to feel a bit off then. Thought perhaps I'd done too much walking and got too much sun. I should have known it was something more serious when I didn't put up a fight when Rob said he hadn't picked up the camera. I never go out without the camera. We did have a lovely day though. Nan and Grandad treated us to dinner for taking them out, both Broadway and Bourton had local fetes on. I came back with so many ideas for things after being inspired by the lovely gift shops including my favourite Christmas shop. Now I just want to make Christmas decorations (despite the heatwave!).

The next day, I was completely wiped. I slept most of it away. The following days are a blur of aches, pains and too much daytime TV. I didn't even have the urge to pick up something simple like my crochet. It also means I have now missed my return to work, which will make it all the harder when I have to get up this next Thursday!

So, I'm almost back to my old self. I've still got a bit of a sore throat, but feel like a human again. We spent some time sitting in the sun, Alex with her paddling pool out, Rob fixing his bike and me finishing off a book I've been stuck in the middle of for ages, then polishing off a second one which held my interest better (both jamespatterson. Love his books). We also had a mini BBQ for Rob's best friend (and Alex's Godfather) because he turned 30 today and we made him some cards. That's Alex and Uncle Anthony (above) fishing for marbles in her paddling pool!

As you can imagine, other than that, there is very little to show craft wise, and I feel anoyed that I've lost a week, but I did finish stitching the owl on Alex's Library book bag (which could do with an iron) and sew her new coverall together.

Hope you've had a lovely day in the sunshine!

A lovely way to spend a day (or two)

Rob has returned! He got back very late Friday night, so I've put away the sewing so we can have lots of family time. We normally only get Sundays together with him working Monday to Friday and me working Saturdays. We spent most of yesterday walking around Coombe Abbey Country Park. The weather was so nice. Alex got to ride a donkey called "Barney" then we played ball games on the grass after our walk. We made a last minute decision to go out for dinner to an indian restaraunt that we've only ever had take away from. So yummy! Then we took another little walk across to the spinney in our village. (I think this was to ease our guilt at the amount of food we just ate!).

Today we went for a walk across the fields. It's incredible just how blue the sky has looked the last 2 days! On the way back we stopped at the park and bought ice cream when the ice cream van came by. We're just waiting for my sister to arrive to watch Alex while we go and have some grown up time at the cinema. We're going to watch "X-Men Origins - Wolverine". Two absolutely perfect days with my lovely family, and tomorrow we're taking my Nana and Grandad to the Cotswolds. Bourton on the Water and Broadway to be precise. Can't wait!

So as we've been so busy, I have very little craft to show you. I'll just leave you with this picture Alex made. It's her family tree, and every apple has a tiny drawing of a family member :)

Hope you're having a lovely weekend!

Zebras!

Yay! Another pair of animals ready to be saved by Noah. Next? Tigers or Bears?

Flower girl

Alexandra has another birthday party coming up and this one is fancy dress. The theme is cartoon characters. I'll be in work so it needed to be something Rob could dress her in without fancy up do's or face painting. This is the start of her costume. Can you guess who she's going to be?

I actually really enjoyed making this little clip. Also, I should have finished the last bits of the zebra costumes ready to show you tomorrow!

My little ducks

From something random to keep idle hands busy, to baby duck greetings.




The stitching on the blue duck tag is a little wonky (Ooops!) but it was my first attempt. I just hope that the Mummy to be doesn't mind too much! The insides of the cards and backs of the tags are lined with matching pink or blue card. So what do you think?

Sewing, sewing, sewing

I may have forgotten (as I frequently do) to mention that I help run a toddler group in our village. It runs every Tuesday morning, so that's where we've been today. I put all the mini craft projects together for the kids and today we made little lambs with cotton wool. Alexandra was a bit disappointed she couldn't show her Daddy her creation because he's away for work at the moment, so she's going to share it here instead.

She absolutely loves making, drawing, sticking and anything else creative. She's desperate to try sewing, but she doesn't quite have the skills yet to manage it. We've both been card making as well because it's Grandma and Grandpa's (my Nan and Grandad's) 64th wedding anniversary today (yes, really, that long. They are both nearly 84 and going very strong). They only live a few doors away, so we already dropped in for a visit and we'll be going back for dinner later. *EDIT - Alex swears that her card is a picture of a bus. I can see where she's coming from, but I think it looks an awful lot like Tick Tock from Return to OZ!*

I actually get my love of sewing from my Nan. She was a dressmaker and let me fill her entire back room with crafty things every weekend as I was growing up. I made all sorts, like dolls clothes, dressing up outfits, dolls houses, papier mache things, cards, stuffed animals, jewelery, it was endless fun. I think it's that freedom I had to create that makes me think now "yeah, I can try that"! She also taught me how to knit, smock and crochet. Then when I got married, she made my wedding dress and helped me make the bridesmaid's dresses. My wedding dress is definitely something I shall keep forever. It would be nice to hear anyone else's stories about anything or anyone that particularly encouraged your crafting either when you were younger or now.

Furry costumes are coming along nicely and I've sent 6 into the school already (that should please Mr man). I have now completed the leopards, the giraffes, the lions and the monkeys. (We already had existing giraffe, lion and monkey heads though). I'm hoping to get either the tigers or zebras finished this week too while Rob's away. The little tiny fluffy bits off the fur fabric keep blowing across the laminate floor and making me think it's a spider! With no Rob here to save me, I'm a big wuss.

I've been playing around with tiny cross stitch too. No particular reason other than I wanted something to do sitting watching telly and give me a break from the mountains of fur! I wasn't sure what to do with them, but I think I'll turn them into cards and gift tags for those new arrivals on the way. What do you think? I have another idea for the little tea cup, but you'll have to wait and see.....

Ahoy Mateys!

Ok, so have nothing much new to show, I've just been working on all those furry creatures. Something I am quite excited about is I've just booked Alex's 4th birthday party. It's not until November, but I really struggled to get a date because everything is booked out (I think it's because you start getting into Christmas party season by then). We've booked our village hall and a company called fit 'n' fun kids which I think the kids will love. I couldn't get the hall on any suitable day in November, so her party will be December 5th. Now this doesn't sound all that exciting, but the best part is she wants a pirate theme! Yay! I feel some bunting coming on :)

So, I've started getting all these big ideas for cakes and invites and costumes (because it's got to be fancy dress) and goody bags. It also means Rob will get one of his big wishes too, a pinata. (He's been trying to convince me since her 1st birthday that a pinata is what she really wants.)

Now I've just got to finish all of these fur things so that I can move on to piratey things without feeling all that guilty. Watch this space!

Bear in a bag

I've just wrapped up the presents for the party tomorrow. Mr bear has his own sleeping bag. Look how lost he looked on his own.....

I didn't really have as much time as I'd have liked and I kind of made it up as I went along, but I was OK with the end result. I used a teal coloured cotton with a patterned cotton of a slightly paler shade for lining. I was going to put a zip all the way down the side and bottom, but didn't have one long enough, so it's just down the one side.

Once it was finished, it didn't really "look finished, so I added this little chain stitch heart with a pink heart button, then tied a sheer pink ribbon to the zip pull.

Sorry for the bad pictures. By the time I'd finished the light was nearly gone. It's made the colour look a little odd. He's all wrapped up now too, so I can't get any better ones in the morning. Oh well.

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend! x

Sooooo Sleepy....

Just so you don't think I've dropped off the face of the planet! I work 3 days a week, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and being a postie, I start EARLY (6:30am). When I finish I have to catch a bus to Alexandra's nursery, collect her, catch a bus back home and then carry on with cooking and housework, so usually on these days I feel a little drained and you may not hear much from me.

Now, just because the day is busy, does not mean there was no crafting at all. I've started another crochet project, this time a blanket (yes, I forced myself away from the teeny bags) for a friends baby that is due in the summer. Hoping it turns out like the picture in my head (it's a very simple idea), but we'll see.....

Alex has a double birthday party to go to on Sunday too. I got a badge maker for the older girl (7), and a cute squishy teddy for the younger girl (4), but I think he needs something. I was thinking something like a sleeping bag, or dressing gown and sleepy hat but the idea hasn't really evolved yet. I'll show you when I've worked it (which had better be soon with the party less than 40 hours away!)

It's Rob's turn to put Alex to bed, and already feeling like a sleep zombie (made worse by knowing I need to be up at 5am) I'm going to put myself to bed.

Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh my!

Well, I said I would let you in on what I'm up to at the moment. I'm helping out Alexandra's nursery by making some costumes for their summer concert. They're doing Noah's Ark. The animals came in 2 by 2, which means double of everything. They already had some parts of some costumes (like the odd tail or head). This is my animal list:

• giraffes


• parrots


• leopards


• lions


• tigers


• black bears


• brown bears


• panda bears


• kangaroos


• crocodiles


• zebras


• horses


• monkeys
  

Not too many then! Up until now, I've mostly been sticking to fur tabbards for the bodies, and avoiding starting anything that resembles a head because it's far more fiddly. Today though, I have been sewing the leopards heads. Well I had to start them at some point and I've already made the leopard bodies so at least it will mean 2 completed costumes. Alex thinks it's great because the living room is filled with fake fur, Rob is thinking it's not so great because our living room really isn't very big.

Added to the mounds of fake fur are piles of DIY tools and materials. We only moved to this house in September and we've been giving it a major overhall. When I say we have been giving it a major overhall, perhaps I should clarify, I mean Rob has been giving it a major overhall, whilst I have been planning the next big job and generally getting in his way! The house is very different to when we moved in back in September, and it's a huge ongoing project, so you may hear more about that now and again.

I've been playing with a bit of crochet too. I haven't been crocheting for long and I'm still learning really, but I do enjoy it. I find it relaxing. So, to wind down or fill little snippets of time recently (I even keep an ongoing one in my work bag just in case!), I've been making little bags for Alex. I don't see any reason why she would need as many bags as she now has, but I don't seem able to stop! The first thing I ever crocheted when my nana taught me last year, was one of these little bags. My bag crocheting might be getting a little out of hand though. Rob keeps calling me the bag lady.

Hello. My name is Vicky, and I'm a craftaholic

I've lurked in the shadows of crafty blogland for quite some time now, but finally I've saved up enough courage to start my own blog and make myself known. I have to admit, this feels a little scary, but I'm certain I'll get the hang of this soon enough and then you wont be able to keep me quiet!

My main reason for wanting to start a blog is to share. I don't have many friends that are into anything crafty, and my husband bless him, encourages me, gives me constructive criticism and trawls around markets and crafty places with me to buy supplies, but sometimes he just doesn't "get it". Do you know what I mean? He tries, but he just doesn't understand the fuss of finding a gorgeous fabric (that I have no idea what I'm going to make from it, but will buy some and think of the details later) or the excitement when a project is finished and has actually turned out how I planned. He lovingly refers to my piles of fabric, felt, wool, embroidery threads, pretty papers etc (this list goes on) as my "craft junk" but I know he wouldn't have me any other way.

The title of my blog is from my daughter. She's a very grown up 3 year old, and her name is Alexandra.

So, here I am. Craft obsession and felty hearts on my sleeve. I look forward to any and all comments. Tomorrow, I'll let you know what I'm up to at the moment......