Coffee and a Catch Up ~ April 2014

It’s that time of the month, when Abi invites us all to sit and have a cup of tea with her. Come in out of the rain. I’ve got a treat for you today.

I was talking pancakes on Friday. It occurred to me then, that they are very similar to the drop scones my Mum used to make sometimes for Sunday tea so I rustled up a batch in time for your visit. We mostly like syrup on ours, maple or golden?

I can’t believe we are now half way through the Friendship Quilt project. Are you taking part? It’s been such fun choosing fabrics, to suit each recipient’s chosen colour scheme. Those *might* be the trimmings from Deb’s block, which went in the post on Friday. I’m hoping that the postal system will get it to the USA a bit quicker than the one I sent to Australia, which is still out there somewhere after a month. 

I’ve stuck with a log cabin block for everyone, although I’ve been changing up the design a bit. I have a stack of strips and squares cut, ready to make duplicate blocks for myself. I love the thought of having a little piece of fabric in my quilt, that will also be in another, somewhere else around the world. I’m already thinking ahead to May and chose this fabric as the starting point for (the other) Deb’s Springtime colour scheme. I’ve set up a Pinterest board with all the blog posts, I’ve noticed, sharing blocks for the Friendship Quilt. If I’ve missed any, please let me know.

In other sewing news, the dress is coming along slowly but surely. Some hand sewing is the next job, which is not really my forte, slipstitching the waistband in place on the inside. The alternative is to stitch “in the ditch” so that the stitches disappear into the waistband seam on the outside, but they would show on the inside and (in my opinion) spoil the neat finish I’ve managed so far. Do you sew your clothes, or have plans to start? I commented on the Sewaholic blog the other day and that resulted in Linda visiting me. She has recently begun dressmaking and made her first dress a few months again. By some strange coincidence Linda chose exactly the same fabric as me! How I love the connections in the blogging world.

The first issue of a brand new magazine arrived last weekend. Among the many lovely projects and patterns in there, I came across this mini art wrap, which I’d previously pinned with the idea of making one for my girl. Next on the dressmaking list, is this cute sixties shift dress. It’s a reprinted vintage pattern and I’ll be making a plain version to begin with, but I think it would look good with the peter pan collar.

The children are back at school now after the Easter holidays, but it wasn’t much of a break for them this time. My girl has her art mock all day on Thursday and the rest of her exams the following week. My boy starts his AS Level exams soon too. Lots of revision, but we did manage to get out for an afternoon, over the Easter weekend. A walk in the sunshine, by the canal at Bradford On Avon.

Ah, its time for you to go now. Mind you don’t step on any of these as you leave. They are out in force after the heavy rain we had earlier. What news will you be sharing over our afternoon cuppa? I’m off to Abi’s place to find out.

My Month in Numbers ~ March 2014

March was a very busy month around here. In fact it was a here, there and everywhere kind of month.

On the very first day of March, I drove seventy miles for a sewing meet up in Exeter. The sum total of my productivity that day, was basting the seven hexagons above, for a Grandmother’s Flower Garden Block. I spent my time chatting to the other ladies and learning lots of tips and tricks from the lovely Kerry.

I taught two classes of nine ladies and we made six projects between them both. I finished the last fifty pages of Life after Life, which I really enjoyed, after a bit of a slow start. I read all four hundred pages of Half Bad, but I wasn’t that impressed. I started The Five People You Meet in Heaven. I took a “shelfie” for World Book Day.

I cooked three litres of Meadow Barn soup, two dozen Cornish Fairings and one dozen lemon drizzle cup cakes ready for a weekend away.

I packed up my car with crafting supplies and drove ninety miles to meet up with nine lovely ladies (and three husbands) for our annual DIY retreat in Herefordshire.

A table for eight crafters and a separate table for the two messy ones! A beautiful sunrise on the Saturday morning, the view from the back of the barn and the calm after the creative storm on the Monday morning. Three blissful days away.

I came home to my first two bunches of daffodils. Only one hospital appointment this month, with three panels of beautiful stained glass to look at while we waited. On the thirteenth of the month, I made a batch of rice crispy bars, using thirteen marshmallows and thirteen toffees, along with butter and rice crispies. Spooky!

I received one hand made card and two bars of my favourite Green & Blacks chocolate, wrapped in paper decorated by my two creative children.

One of them had two wrappers, but that didn’t stop me!

That’s my March and I’m linking up with Julie and all the other counters this month.

ETA: Oops! I thought the scheduling hadn’t worked, but it *might* be because today is actually the 11th and not the 12th!

Simply A Moment ~ Saturday Morning 7.50am

I’m sharing a moment for March, along with Alexa over at Trimming the Sails.

I stand at the sink, hands plunged into the warm water, admiring my lovely daffs on the windowsill. I can almost believe that Spring is on its way.

We had a late drive home, after celebrating our niece’s eighteenth birthday with her. Much later bedtimes than our norm, but me and my girl were still up at our usual hour. I don’t think either of us is fully awake, but home work and chores have commenced. Good to get them out of the way, while it’s quiet. The dishes for me, a work sheet on semi colons and commas for her.

She has my habit of reading the sentences aloud, to hear where the pause should be, before deciding on the punctuation. “If it rains this afternoon, I’ll catch the bus home.” I smile to myself as I listen to her. Then comes the corker. “Istanbul, which is not the capital of Turkey, used to be called Concertinapole.” We both dissolve into fits of laughter, until our sides are aching. As I suspected, not quite awake yet.

PS This was last Saturday, but I’m still laughing as I read it again!

My Month in Numbers ~ February 2014

February was a short month (as always!) and when I came to write this post, I couldn’t think of much that had happened. I turned to my IG feed to help me out.

I posted 29 photos on Instagram, among them 10 shots for Hilary Rushford’s #StyleMeFeb challenge.

I started the month well, but fell by the wayside once half term was upon us. 10 whole days with the company of my lovely children.

Inches of rainfall recorded for February: A lot! You may remember the first picture from January, when the water rose right up to the railings, around the library car park. I took a similar shot last month, to show the full extent of the flooding. Now you can see where the water should have been. It’s been back up since I took that.

Number of blue skies spotted: Not nearly enough. I find it funny that my neighbours have a palm tree in their garden. It makes it look like I live by the seaside. On a day when the sky looked like that, I had a huge sort out of all my UFOs* and the projects that I have the wherewithal for, but so far only exist inside my head.

I now have a large box containing the fabric I already have for 7 (eek!) different things and a list of bits and bobs that I need to complete them. I also have one finished clutch. Go me! It makes all the difference to have everything you need in one place.

Nine lovely readers have joined in (so far) with the first month of my new SIPIDI! meme, including Sheena with her wonderful Cookie Monster cup cakes.** That makes me so happy. It’s giving me a push to use more of my Pins too. Win, win!

On the food front, I baked 32 Cornish Fairings, cooked 56 breakfast pancakes, ate 4 roast dinners and tried 2 new recipes this month.

Looks like more went on during February than I imagined. If you want to see what everyone else has been counting up this month, then head on over to Julie’s place.

*UFOs = Unfinished Objects. We all have those, right?

**I wanted to make a collage of all the Pinterest inspired projects, but couldn’t figure out how and as the afternoon is slipping away from me I’ve given up…..this time.

My Month in Numbers ~ January 2014

So, that was January. Thirty-one days gone in a flash.

I ate twenty-two bowls of soup, including several of this Spicy Sweet Potato with coconut milk. It was just one of the new recipes I tried out this month….

….along with these four and one old favourite thrown in for good measure.

I joined Instagram and posted forty-six photos taken with my new phone….

….I also discovered the #greatukfabricdetash and as a result, received these five parcels through the post, all in one day…..

….containing all this fabulous fabric. Including seven metres of the most beautiful gauzy pale yellow cotton with a lovely watercolour style print, for just twenty pounds. I see a fifties summer dress in my sewing future. First things first though….

….I began making a copy of my favourite White Stuff skirt and was astonished to discover that I needed to cut the size sixteen pattern pieces. There is a vast difference between ready to wear (in which I’m a size ten) or “vanity sizing” as it is known and the sizes on dressmaking patterns. Who knew?

I lost count of how many games of Carcasonne I played with my boy. Here I managed to claim victory by just one point! It has been a saviour this month. He sat five mock exams during three days last week and things have been a little stressful around here as a result.

Now onto a new month, with the possibility of lots more counting along with Julie.

Coffee and a Catch Up ~ January 2014

I’m linking up with the lovely Abi today. She invites us all to “Sit and have a cup of tea” with her and share our news.

Being British, we might well start by talking about the weather. Specifically, the endless rain we have had this month. I took this photo standing on the bridge, that leads across the river to the library. The water was sloshing right under my feet and was more or less level with the bank on the far side. We’ve lived here for six years now and I’ve never seen it quite that high before. Imagine if the library were to get flooded. In fact, no, I don’t even want to think about that. *shudder* Here in the South it’s been a very mild Winter without the crisp cold days and clear skies I love.

It’s mock exam season around here and with one embarking on his A Levels and the other her GCSEs, there’s a lot of revision needing to be done. Everyone needs a break though and not being able to get out much, we’ve been getting cosy and enjoying a film or a good board game and plenty of hearty casseroles. I’ve tried a few new recipes this month, some of which I’ll be sharing here, on the blog, very soon. Have you got a favourite tried and tested Winter warmer? I’m loving my slow cooker and it’s had quite a workout these past few weeks. So glad I bought it.

Have a look at this lovely selection of fabrics I received in the mail last week. I’m trying to be a bit more organised this year and get ahead with my blocks. The colours on the right are for Amy’s theme of “Seaside colours, washed and worn.” The silvery grey reminded me of driftwood. The two on the left are for Beverly’s Caribbean colour scheme. I already have some fabric in my stash to go with them. It’s so much fun picking out colours for everyone and I’m really enjoying this project. Maybe you’re joining in too. How are you finding it so far? Are you getting a little more adventurous as the months go by or, like me, sticking to a plan for everyone?

I’m a little late to the party, but in other news, I joined Instagram this month. Of course you may have already guessed that from the square photos gracing this blog post. The above being the almost mandatory lunch shot. I’m loving it. Beverly suggested that Friendship Quilt folk could post fabrics, that fitted their own colour scheme, to give others an idea of what they were hoping to receive. Does that sound like a good idea? I think most of you are already members, although not necessarily active ones. I am @angelfishcrafts over there and will be using the hashtag “friendshipquilt” unsurprisingly!

It’s been lovely to see you here today and I’ll be round to catch up on all your news soon. ‘Til the next time x

My Month in Numbers ~ March 2013

Having failed to post my numbers for February, I thought I’d get in early this month. March started with an eighty mile road trip, to meet up with nine lovely ladies, for two whole days of uninterrupted crafting time, in beautiful Herefordshire.

The following Friday was a mufti day for the children and they went off to school proudly wearing the two t-shirts they had made themselves.

On Mothering Sunday, I received this package, which contained two bars of my favourite Green & Blacks, along with a hand drawn card from my son.

My daughter gave me these two paper dolls she had drawn, of herself and her brother in their home made t-shirts.

Spring seems to be a little late putting in an appearance this year, but two bunches of daffodils help to bring a hint of it into the house.

I made twelve cards, including one for my niece who turned seventeen this month, along with Ten twinchies and twenty inchies for a swap.

I tried two new recipes, including this yummy Keralan style prawn curry from the Hairy Dieter’s book. I read two books: The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, which I enjoyed and Neverwhere, which I loved. I watched thirteen episodes of The Killing. I know I’m late to the party, but I’m enjoying catching up. Gotta love Lovefilm.

That’s my March. A bit of a random mix this month and there are a lot of ‘twos’ in there! For lots more numerical posts head on over to Julie’s place.

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday #178

It’s pouring with rain and blowing a gale, but the kitchen window is wide open so we don’t choke to death on fixative fumes! I’m sure it used to smell of pear drops. The table has been taken over by my son, while he works on some pieces for his GCSE sketchbook.

They seemed appropriate for this Halloween desk sharing and it seemed only fair that I should show you something of his after sharing one of my daughter’s creations on Monday. Old fashioned paper and pencil for him rather than a fancy graphics tablet.

You may notice that my fruit bowl is missing. I thought it sensible to remove it while we sprayed noxious chemicals around the place!

Happy Halloween to you all.

P.S. See yesterday’s post, if you might be interested in learning, along with me, how to make a patchwork block using the English paper piecing method.

Hello Monday, Hello Half term

Hello creativity….my girl will be busy drawing lots of her chibi characters.

Hello patience….I’ll be sharing my laptop with her while she does it!

Hello experimenting….with transfer paper, to put these designs onto T-shirts.

Hello confidence….in my card making abilities, after being a Favo{u}rite of the Week on Split Coast Stampers.

Hello relaxation….time spent together to recharge, after a busy half term at school.

Is it a week off for the children where you live, or have you just gone back like some of my friends in other parts of the UK?

Hello Monday, Hello Blue Skies….

….a welcome sight after the torrential downpours last week.

Hello resolution….long overdue, for an incident at school that should have been handled far better than it was.

Hello new recipes….to get me out of my cooking rut.

Hello ruthlessness….the clutter must go and it isn’t happening fast enough.

Hello nervous excitement….for my first card making class on Wednesday.

What’s happening in your corner of the world this week?

Storytelling Sunday 2 ~ Thirteen

I really wanted to share a Jubilee themed story today, but alas I cannot find a single photo of our Silver Jubilee celebrations back in 1977.

There was a celebration of a different kind in our house last month.

                                             Thirteen candles

                                                    One wish

These are the only two pictures I managed to take. You have to be quick to catch her unawares these days. No second chance to get a sharper shot, the blur will have to do. Better to have that, than no photo at all.

I’m linking up with Sian today and everyone else who has a story to share.

 

Salad Days

The temperature has risen during the last few days and we’ve been enjoying the sunshine. I was more than happy to forgo my usual Sunday task of producing a roast dinner and hand the reins over to my husband. Of course I wasn’t totally off the hook, because the accompanying salads are my department, while the fire starting and charcoaling of large quantities of meat are his.

I was a vegetarian for around a decade, before having my children and learning to cook meals that included meat and fish. I would happily live on salads of the green and leafy variety during hot weather, but that just wouldn’t cut it around here. This pasta salad is simple to throw together and pleases everyone. Even my daughter with her aversion to ‘green bits’ !

Egg Pasta Salad

3 handfuls of wholemeal pasta twists

3 eggs (hardboiled)

3 plump (or 6 skinny) spring onions

3 spoonfuls* of mayonnaise

freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta, drain and cool slightly

Stir in 2 spoonfuls of mayonnaise

Chop the eggs and spring onions

Stir into the pasta with remaining spoonful of mayo

Season with plenty of black pepper

This is the amount I make when it is just the four of us and we have things to eat that go inside rolls or pitta bread. It leaves a decent portion for my son to take in his lunchbox the next day. He’s always on hand when the pasta goes in the pan, just to make sure. The quantities are very easily adaptable to whatever you need.

I’m hoping there will be plenty more opportunities to enjoy some al fresco dining in the coming months. Long live the salad.

*The size of spoon is entirely up to you.

Storytelling {Monday} Sunday

I had a wonderful weekend in Herefordshire with some lovely ladies. There was much crafting, coffee, cake, chocolate and chatting. What more could you want? It was back to reality with a bang on Sunday night, when I walked through the front door, so my story had to wait until today.

We moved into our house 4 years ago and being a new build, it was a vision in magnolia throughout. High time we had some colours on the walls then. My husband is not a huge fan of decorating, but he likes to do it right. This meant we couldn’t just paint the walls, but had to do the ceiling as well. The room was duly dust sheeted and work could commence.

We took down the old light fittings, which we both hated, ready to fill, sand, wash down and finally paint. The idea being to push through, no matter how long it took and get the new light fittings up, once the paint had dried. Neither of us spotted the fatal flaw in this excellent plan. Once the natural light ran out, we had no other light at all and couldn’t actually paint the ceiling. Doh!

The lounge was very cosy, with a selection of bedside lamps, that evening, but I’m very happy to have a fresh white ceiling and some new lights now. Maybe we’ll even get some paint on the walls this week.

For more tales, of anything from great adventures to everyday life, head on over to Sian’s place.

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday? #143

My desk really is in a sorry state this week, or should that be me without my desk. We are attempting to decorate the lounge and have been doing the oh so boring absolutely essential (apparently) prep work today.

My husband spotted a sanding sponge, while we were wandering the aisles in B&Q and thought it would be a new toy to play with very handy. He had to try it out as soon as we got back (before we had dust sheeted of course) and the result was this.

My once chocolate brown leather sofa is now magnolia speckled. Lovely. Ah well I’m sure it will all be worth it in the end. The wall behind my desk may even be a new colour next week. You never know.

If you want to see some desks where craftiness actually happens then try here. I’ll be back tomorrow with my Month in Numbers, if I haven’t been gagged with Frogtape and shut in the understairs cupboard in the meantime.