By The Sea....

Hello my lovely ladies!! How've you been?

Much of this week has been quiet and a lot of knitting (and frogging) has gone on but yesterday I ventured out to meet up with some of my good friends that I have met through the power of the www.

I went via Ashley's from Country Rose to collect her & Rose and then we headed across to Gem's (of Treasures From The Cherry Tree fame) new house.

We were given a warm welcome with tea and homemade cake and I was finally able to give Gem the housewarming gift I had made:

One of my free motion embroidery pictures of her house.

I have these for sale in my Etsy shop - I can do custom embroideries of your house or a friend or relatives, they would make great gifts!!

After the grand tour of Gem's new home (which is EXACTLY like the kind of house I would love, complete with Downton Abbeyesque doorbell!!) we pottered along to a lovely cafe on the seafront to meet Sarah from Annaboo's House and her little daughter for lunch.

Naturally, having already had cake I fell completely off the wagon:

Mmmmm, I could just eat it again!!

After lunch we went for a wander on the beach and Rose entertained us no end by splashing in the rock pools and more than once sitting down fully clothed in them!! Luckily, Ashley had a change of clothes so it was decided to let Rose get on with it and she and little A had a whale of a time:

We posed for silly group portraits:

Could I look anymore like Lisa Riley?!!

I prefer this one which we took whilst Ashley was fishing Rose out of another rock pool (sorry, Ashley, how rubbish are we? She was sooooo funny and cute though!!):

All too soon (after more tea and cake at Gem's) it was time to come home. We had such a lovely day and promises were made to meet up again soon.

I must add that it was one of those days where one truly marvels at the power of a blog - without which I would have never met these lovely ladies that I have so much in common with....

Hugs,

S x

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The Instagrannies Big Day Out....

Last Saturday the lovely Ashley from Country Rose and I set out on a road trip to Alexandra Palace for The Knitting and Stitching Show and to meet up with some of the lovely ladies we have met online via our blogs and Instagram.

Ashley is now glowingly pregnant and so naturally we had to stop en route which suited me as there was a Starbucks and I got to have a huge Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Dear Ashley looking radiant....

It took a couple of hours to get to Ally Pally and then a while to find a parking space, we thought for a moment we were going to have no luck, but we eventually managed to find a spot in a side street.

We hiked up the hill, and I was glad Ashley was preggers as it meant I could have a rest now and again too - I am soooooo unfit!!

The view over London from the top is spectacular:

You could see the Gherkin and the Shard....

We all met in the foyer and there were hugs all round before we headed into the show - it was huge, really busy and hot!! I didn't take many pics inside as we kept getting split up and there was a huge urge to just stand about and natter.

We did all manage to get together at lunchtime:

And afterwards, we nabbed a passerby to take a group photo of us all:

Please ignore my Johnny Vegas-esque chin(s)....

Kate from Adventures From A City Girl Country Girl; Ashley from Country Rose; Nicki from Homebird; LissyLou from Lissy Lou & The Two Little Boys; Gemma from Little Gem's Diary; Gemma from Musings Of A Gem; Gemma from Gem's Country Life Dream; Julie from Pretty Little Jewels; Cuckoo from Tales From Cuckoo Land; Kmmms from Things Learnt The Hard Way

I couldn't miss the opportunity to join Cuckoo in one of her trademark silly face photos:

What do we look like?!!

In actual fact Cuckoo is every bit as gorgeous IRL as I knew she would be:

I, however, am not....lol....

We all parted feeling even more like old friends with plans afoot to meet up again soon for a whole day of crafting and nattering.

Naturally a few purchases were made, which I must show you:

Sock yarn and Alpaca DK that was going to be for a shawl - indeed since Saturday I have crocheted 3/4 of it, and realised that:

a. I thought it was a bit prickly (I detest prickly wool/garments as my Mum used to make us wear horrid itchy jumpers in the '70's).

b. I didn't have enough yarn.

So it's been frogged.

I also got some pretty ribbons and trimmings:

I also got some cute stitch markers:

It was a really, really good day - some of the ladies had felt a bit nervous about meeting up with people they had met over the Internet but I can honestly say it was very successful indeed - we truly all got along as though we had known each other for years - and not one of us turned out to be a 50 year old fella, eh Cuckoo?!!....

Hugs,

S x

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A Crafty Catch Up....

As I have managed to drag the tale of my birthday weekend out over three weeks I have missed out on showing you the latest things I have been creating and so I thought a catch post was in order!!

After having the frames for ages, I got around to displaying the boys very first baby grows:

I can't hardly believe they were ever that small!!

I also framed the embroidery I did whilst we were in Zakynthos this summer:

One afternoon I made a little sign using my Annie Sloan paints and a quote from our wedding song (which was "Endless Love"):

With some of my birthday money I bought two lovely lamps for the bedroom, but they came with really dull shades and so I made some patchwork fabric to cover them then I added some crochet trim:

A little fabric bird:

A little machine embroidery for the kitchen:

And a little birds nest made with beads and silver wire:

You may wonder how I get the time for all this crafting it I am very lucky in that I don't work and H and W are usually glued to their various electronic devices when they get home from school!! So that means in an afternoon, when all the chores and errands are done I often retreat into my girl cave to play for a couple of hours....

I'm off tomorrow to The Knit and Stitch Show at Ally Pally so I hoping next week I will have some bargains to show you!!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend....

Hugs,

S x

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The GIFTS!!

Hello my sweeties!!

Well I have managed to drag out the story of my birthday for a good couple of weeks now, so congratulations if you are still with me!!

My actual birthday was on a Monday, so Mr G got up and took the boys to school before bringing me tea, cards and presents.

My main gift from Mr G was a vintage (1890) gold watch:

I absolutely love it, of course being over 120 years old (that blows my mind a bit!!) it has to be wound, and it makes the loveliest tick-tocking. It also keeps very good time, being exactly in synch with Mr G's modern designer watch.

Mr G also got me some winter boots. I chickened out of the DM's in the end having tried them on in a shoe shop - they were a wee bit chunky for me and it took literally 10 minutes to lace them after which I needed a lay down!! These boots have a zip as well as laces (which I shall swap for ribbons) and so are much easier:

H and W bought me two metres of fabric which they chose themselves, very sweet!!

My sister and brother-in-law also spoiled me with something that has been on my wanties list ever since I saw Nicki's from Homebird's some months ago:

Swoon!! It's a red polka dot Zatchel and I love it!! Sis had not only chose the exact size I wanted but also added the grab handle to the top (which is optional) so she got it spot on!!

MIL & FIL also got me a Pressie I had wanted for ages - it was probably a couple of years ago that Nigella Lawson did a show and in the titles you saw her switching on a bunny lamp:

He gives off a lovely relaxing glow and I just love him!! He is by Heico and from Petit Home.

My Stepmum gave me a lovely canvas with vintage teacups on that goes perfectly in the kitchen - very me!! Haven't got a piccie to show you of that though.

After present opening I got ready leisurely and we headed to Chichester - there is a Feather and Black outlet store and as we needed a new bed I thought we could pop in there, which (coincidentally) is just along from The Eternal Maker - a lovely quilting shop.

There was nothing to tempt us in the bed shop but of course purchases were made in the fabric shop:

After mooching round the shops we headed back homewards to our favourite pub which is very near to where I keep my horses. It was all candlelit inside as it was a gloomy day and we got a nice spot by the wood burner:

The pub has the most fantastic pies and we both enjoyed a sausage and chorizo pie with thick cut crispy chips - I was too greedy to take a picture!!

I did take one of my new bag on its maiden outing:

After we finished our meal an chap left his old Mum near to where we were sat so he could fetch the car - she began to chat to us and told she was 101!! I told her it was my 40th birthday and she said "Let me give you some advice, my dear. Spend your money. Don't save it. Spend it and enjoy. Don't save it like I did. It's no use to me now." I found that very poignant....

After all the excitement (and expense!!) of the weekend we had a quiet night in - we were both stuffed until quite late when we shared baked Camembert, roasted tomatoes and crusty bread in front of the telly.

I had been thoroughly spoiled - I am very lucky to have such a lovely family that did all they could to make my 40th birthday very special indeed - thank you I love you all....

Hugs,

S x











 

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Craft Books For Sale....

Hello my lovelies - a quick interlude before I finally get around to telling you about my actual birthday day to tell you I have some craft books for sale:

Stitch And Bitch: The Knitters Handbook by Debbie Stoller - small pale stain on corner of back few pages otherwise good - £5.00

Knitty Gritty: Knitting For The Absolute Beginner by Aneeta Patel - as new - £5.00

Simply Stylish Crochet by Melody Griffiths - as new - £5.00 (unavailable on Amazon new and £18 (!!) used!!)

The Crochet Bible by Sue Whiting - as new - £5.00 SOLD

Crochet Designs: 25 Must Have Items To Make by Tess Dawson - as new £5.00

Crochet That Fits: Shaped Fashions Without Increases and Decreases by Mary Jane Hall - as new £5.00

Postage for the above £2.80 for first book, £1.00 for each additional

The Collette Sewing Handbook: Inspired Styles and Classic Techniques For The New Seamstress by Sarah Mitnick - brand new includes several full size uncut patterns - £8.00

Sew Serendipity Bags: Fresh And Pretty Projects To Sew And Love by Kay Whitt - brand new. includes full size patterns - £8.00

These two would be £3.50 p&p each as are heavy.

Please email and/or send payment via Paypal to:

spending-all-his-money@ntlworld.com

Happy shopping!!

S x

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The Big 4-0 Part Three....

I've been a bit slack on posting of late and it suddenly dawned on me that I didn't tell you about the rest of my birthday weekend.

On Sunday we had sort of planned to see if we could find a couple of flea markets in London - however, whilst doing a bit of Googling I realised that Sunday was the day of The Festival of Vintage at Epsom which was kind of on the way home.

We awoke Sunday to a grey day and soon it began to rain so the prospect of an indoor vintage festival was a lot more attractive than traipsing round the capital in the hopes of finding a good market.

So it was we bid farewell to London and headed back south.

By the time we arrived at the racecourse it was bucketing it down, and there were several beautifully clad, victory rolled ladies trying to remain immaculate as they dashed to the entrance.

Inside was an Aladdins cave of all things vintage:

Close up of the lovely dress:

I want a frock like this and I shall wear it to Asda....

Lots of people were dressed the part and looked splendid:

Naturally I couldn't resist buying some of the lovely vintage fabric that was on offer:

I also joined in a little workshop to make a cute pincushion:

After a lovely couple of hours we headed home and had a snooze (which we really needed after the wonderful but hectic weekend); Grandma and Granddad brought the boys back and soon it was time to head to my Mum's for a birthday tea.

Now this was meant to be a surprise but unfortunately Mr G's Mum let it slip the week before *rollseyes* - so along with sister-in-law letting slip London was our destination Mr G says he is not telling his family any secrets in future!!

Mum had done an amazing spread - you can always rely on a northern woman to over cater:

My sister had made a fabulous cake, complete with icing Cath Kidston tag:

Although it was the day before my birthday Mum insisted I open at least her presents as she wanted to be there when I did.

My first present was a gorgeous bangle:

I love it....

A cute little sparkly mirror compact which Mum had had engraved on the back:

And then the gift that made me cry - a beautiful Irish linen tablecloth Mum had handmade and covered in hand embroidered motifs - it had taken her two years:

It was the signature and date that made me blub most!!

Mum had been embroidering napkins on our holiday in Zakynthos this summer, telling me they were for a friend when all the time they were for me!!

So, all these treats and we still haven't come to my actual birthday yet!! I have been so spoilt by my lovely family.

I was going to squeeze it all in this post but I think I've gone on enough for now so will have to do the final installment another day....

Thanks for reading!!

Hugs,

S x

 

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