Thursday 31 January 2013










Our Last Day of Freedom!  Two days after this my little one came down with the Chicken Pox.  Thankfully we had escaped the house for a day of fun at the.....Garden centre.  We looked at the fish and we ate some cake, Little W and his friend (the Gruffalo) enjoyed running around and reading the books like it was a library!

More snow last week meant we were confined to the village, even a short walk around the block seemed to sap the energy, i don't know how they cope in countries where it is like this for months on end, i was very relieved when i opened my curtains to see green again!






Thursday 24 January 2013




I recently had a birthday, i received some lovely gifts so thank you to everyone.  My husband very kindly "gave" me some pieces of cloth to make myself some dresses.  In truth we went to a big department store who were having a 50% sale on their Amy Butler fabrics, so after drooling over them all i settled on these two.  Two dresses for the thrifty price of £14.00 each, not bad eh?  One of them does make me look a bit like a 1940s char lady/Ma Larkin, which is hardly surprising as i took the pattern off a vintage pinny but who wants to fade into the background? We also have a fantastic cloth shop in Norwich called Anglia fashions, it has the most fantastic array of dressmaking cloths and haberdashery and very helpful staff, so i went mad and bought some coral baby needlecord to make another frock, this has gone on hold until my ballet work is complete so i will show you that one in a while....



Sunday 20 January 2013



Snowbound Pursuits
Whilst we have been trapped inside avoiding slippy roads i have been able to get on with a few more commissions.  I made a pinafore for my friends little girl as a Christmas gift( see a previous post), a client saw it and ordered  two more dresses, and lo and behold i have another order for two more green frocks.  So the weather has helped me get on, although my ballet costumes are currently trapped on the other side of the country so i am unable to crack on with those, fingers crossed they'll be back soon! My little one has been wearing himself out with various Christmas gifts. So much so that whilst i was cooking dinner on Friday, it went very quiet in the living room, i went in to see what could possibly be keeping him so quiet, and i discovered he was sparko on the sofa.  He hasn't done this.....well...ever, he slept until we woke him for dinner, and was thoroughly grumpy until he went to bed when he then pinged awake.


Wednesday 16 January 2013













winter wonderland

We have had two days of snow, as predicted and hyped up, in our neck of the woods.  I only remember a couple of snowy winters in my childhood but master w has had one every year of his little life.  After a morning at playschool for him, and work for me, we went for a walk down the back lane near home.  We called in at the local allotments where the little park also is, there were lots of big frozen puddles to jump on and crack in a satisfying way, W has also learnt that big frozen puddles are often slippy, and he ended up on his back several times. We saw many things on our walk, an egg was the most unexpectd item, but we also befriended a black cat, who followed us for a while and w was most concerned it didn't slip over on the iceTwo lovely skittish horses came over to say hello, and most excitingly we saw a barn owl out hunting in the snow. (You can just about see it in the above shot, its a white shape in the centre above the green fence posts- honestly).  You can almost guarantee that you will see this beautiful bird hunting over the marshes when you go down this lane, but it always gives me a thrill, and it flew so close to us today with a small something in its beak that even W saw it, he was more interested in the cat though!

Tuesday 15 January 2013

New Years Resolutions
I don't usually make any resolutions as i am terrible at keeping them, but i opened my big mouth in front of a good friend that i was going to conquer my fear of the wooly craft.  I love to crochet but knitting is something which i have never really got to grips with.  I've done the wonky unfinished scarf, always after someone else has cast on for me, and never ever attempted an actual pattern.  So my kind friend bought me this great book and a lovely pair of wooden needles, and i really have no excuse now..... So after watching a few tutorials on you tube, i have managed to cast on and knit a few rows, i have to admit i am enjoying it, and i think i'm hooked or should that be needled!  Will keep you posted as to whether i manage to cast off or learn to purl, or figure out what to do with the circular needle she also gave me.

A Bit of Cheer to Brighten up a Gloomy Day

My lovely winter hyacinths have finally finished cheering up my mantlepiece, two bloomed for Christmas day, but wilted pretty quickly and seemed to give off very weak scent, this one however has been fab, a subtle perfume not that headache inducing smell which they can sometimes produce.  I planted these in November, did the whole hiding them in a cupboard thing like i remember my mum doing when we were young.  However i succumbed to the very reasonably priced narcissi and more hyacinths ready potted and waiting to bloom offered at the local shops, so my mantle piece will be colourful again soon. They have been watched over by Fergus atop his toadstool.  Fergus is my son's little critter made for him by a friend, you can view more of them at her blog -vicaragequilts.blogspot.co.uk.

Saturday 12 January 2013

Sunny Saturday Morning
  We awoke this morning to a bright sky and a covering of frost, the temperature has finally caught up with the season.  It has been very mild for weeks here and all the spring bulbs in our garden have been fooled into poking their heads above the soil, but now its cooooold.  My little one is keen to play outside so my hubby has taken him off to the swings to let me get on with work, its a ballet this time, lots of blingy fabric.  This rather uninspiring photo is the inside of the tunic for the ballet dancer, they are needed for a fitting on Wednesday so i am tied to the sewing machine this weekend, i have four tunics and four pairs of breeches to get ready.  My little one likes the creative stuff as well, and he spent a large part of the morning cutting up his play doh.
A little parcel arrived this morning which i have been eagerly awaiting.











A lovely crafty pack from Teawagon.  It is full of sraps of funky cloth and wallpaper, i'm not sure what i'm going to do with it yet but i've been looking at these on Etsy for ages and finally succumbed!