Here's to 2009

Here are my girls Maude, Maureen and Moira and Betty is just disappearing into the Hen House (look at that lovely fluffy bottom).
It just so happens to be -3 degrees, the bleak midwinter is upon us and guess what, the girls have started laying! Uhh? Not a single solitary egg for months and months, infact I had given up hope that they would ever lay again!
Here is the evidence, the third one since Christmas Eve. The first one was shaped like a pear! I guess it must have hurt? Ouch.

My girls are busy then and so am I. I made this coin purse last night and felt very pleased with myself too. You may think that sounds a bit smug, but believe me it is quite an achievement. I am totally incapable of making a good job of anything that involves cutting out from a pattern and piecing together...HOPELESS, no matter how hard I try I always make a pig's ear of it. The instructions for this coin purse took quite a lot of reading and re-reading but anyway, it all came together in the end, much to my amazement. I bored my husband rigid all evening, telling him what a challenge I had met! Anyway enough of that.

So today, I thought I would make a purse using my collaged, mixed media and hand embroidery technique and here we are. It has taken a good proportion of the day to get my head around it and to actually make it, plus the 'ingredients' don't come cheap. So I'm not sure whether I will be making many of them. The age old story of too costly in time and money to make! But I have enjoyed meeting a challenge. SOLDThis is the back, (below) a piece of embroidery taken from an old tray cloth! (Very pretty).

The lining is lovely, delicious, divine, Liberty Lawn.

Bit of a close up going on here.

Ooh an even closer one!

Well talking of challenges, personally I am hoping to grab 2009 by the dangly bits this year and make the most of every bloomin' minute of it.

Let's make 2009 one to remember!

I wish you all the love, joy and happiness in all the whole wide world.

Love Viv x

Links and Liam

Well I seem to be on a bit of a roll here! Two needlecases and a sketchbook today...who hoo!

This sketchbook was put together the other day. I adore these books made by Khadi Papers. It's the decal edges that do it for me.
Put this together this morning.

I wanted to also bring up the subject of links. Just before the festive season I got myself into a bit of a pickle with the link list. With time being at a premium I did'nt seem to be able to keep an up to date list. If any one left a comment I tried to put them as a link, or if I came across a great blog, I added that butI find it such a fiddle faddle adding links. Then there is google reader and blogs that 'I follow'. It all just got a bit too much, so I deleted all of my links! I would hate to upset anyone with regard to links and it is always lovely to see that someone has added you to their link list. ( gigibird had a great idea with having a 'blog of the week' which is such a good idea). So anyway, I wondered if anyone had any tips for someone who has got a bit flustered on the link department. I would love to hear from you with your ideas/suggestions, or is it me just not having enough spare time?

I will leave you today with a YouTube clip of Oasis ~ I'm Outta Time. Stunning lighting, mood, settings, perfection ... just like a fabulous dream, I could watch it all day. I could rather fancy Liam?!

Thanks for stopping by.x

The sofa, chocolates and TV call to me.

Sunday ~ What a cold, raw day. I am torn between the need to be creative and get on with all of my ideas and wanting to just curl up with the family on the sofa, in front of the fire and watch Spiderman! I have an inner struggle with wanting to be a bit lazy and on the other hand, just getting on with making.
Anyway, here is a piece I made yesterday and is destined for Etsy. I really enjoy working on paper, it's the layering and fragility of the papers, and the transluscent qualities that I find really pleasing. Embroidering the paper is and can be really frustrating. The machine embroidery is very tough on the paper too but the quality of the line is beautiful to me.

The background paper is dated 1922 and has this exquisite stamp and signature dated 13/3/22.

The embroidered flowers are the last of a vintage table cloth that I picked up and have chopped and used virtually every inch of it. I shall miss it so much, as the embroidery is so vivid and useful in so many projects.

I hope you are having a great weekend and thank you for stopping by.x

Christmas Eve with my sister

Warmest wishes to you all. I hope you have a wonderful few days and not too uncomfortable from all the food and drink you would'nt normally dream of consuming! I am, but I don't care! Family, happy times that's what it is all about and I am very lucky to have a wonderful family.

I wanted to share with you the lovely day my family shared with my sister and her family. My sister lives in a stone cottage in a village called Clun, Shropshire. An area of outstanding natural beauty. We had a lovely family time and I took some photos of her home to show you.

The snow globe below, she purchased when we went to New York for a week together, wonderful, unforgettable week. Her Christmas tree is themed ~ glass and silver.

Deep stone windows with beautiful Christmas arrangements.

Every time I visit she has wonderful arrangements of her belongings, there is always something new and gorgeous to look at.

The cake she made for us.

We went for a walk after a superb meal and she showed me the allotments, virtually walled by an ancient stone wall. The earth was dark and beautiful, just like Christmas Cake. Not a sound to be heard other than the singing of birds.

Bliss....

Fancy toiling at the earth and straightening up and looking out on such a stunning view, 360 degrees.
In one of the corners of the allotments there was tiny stone built hut which my sister said was medieval. (Obviously not the shed above)!

Someone has kindly cut a hole for the cat/wildlife.

Well that's enough brassicas for one day. I am off work for another week, so you will be hearing more from me over the next few days.

Thanks for stopping by.x

From Freda and Doug

My other half and I have been doubled up this evening. We received a Christmas card through the post today addressed to Mr and Mrs Brittain. Correct address, wrong name, as Mr. and Mrs. Brittain were the couple we purchased our house from. They had split up and were undergoing a divorce, reason for house sale.(Envelope, front of card and inside). Nothing wrong in that you might think, some folks only ever exchange Christmas cards but Freda and Doug are a little behind the times, as we purchased the house from Mr and Mrs Brittain in 1994! Yes, 1994. It's not like we have received a card each year either, this is the first!!!! And poor Mr. Brittain (I heard through the grapevine) died several years ago, so gawd knows what planet Freda and Doug reside on, any clues anyone?
-0-
Why is it, that just recently I keep singing 'Little Donkey, little donkey had a busy day' in my head all of the time? Last time I heard this lovely Christmas song, was when my girls did Nativity Plays... thirteen and more years ago now!!!

Rain and wine

My birthday + Lucy's 21st birthday = make a good excuse for me to book a hotel for a night in London to be with my girl!

What a weekend we chose, it absolutely hammered it down morning, noon and night.

I booked the Hotel in Camden, as this is Lucy's fav haunts. You can see what we were up against though with the rain, I hate rain.

Tried to capture the moment! Me in my tweed coat (oh not that again, I hear you cry) not exactly the most well chosen of attire for the weekend.

Lots of craft stalls at Camden Lock. And inside, such a beautiful room.


And outside more craft stalls.

Feet soaking wet, we hit Camden's pub life at 5.30!

This pub was lovely. It had candles in the very old windows and I felt I was in a Dickensian Novel! Great watching the world scurry by with their brollies.

Next pub, really great, as all around the walls were posters of Madness (my era) and alot of the middle aged men in there were wearing Crombies and turned back jeans! I got chatted up, much to the surprise of my daughter (and me) and as the night wore on and I devoured more wine, I just told her that I may be 49 but I had still got 'it'. How to freak your kids out, ehh!

Gay bar and far too much wine consumed.
Next day........Street Art below, how good is this? There may be some hidden, subversive message in all of this. I am pretty niave when it come to being street wise, so I do apologise if there is anything offensive!

Sunday morning 10. am heading for the tube when we came across this lot. Did'nt think to ask .... 'why'?

Portabello Road, so beautiful, would'nt mind living myself, if I had a few million quid spare!

Well, we had a wonderful time together, some really good quality mother/daughter time, as I have missed her dreadfully since she moved to London this September.

-0-

Anyway, here is my find of the week. Katherine House Hospice Shop, £3....... I can't tell you how made up I am over this purchase. A lovely bag of very old christmas decorations. The glass is so thin and fragile, how they have survived is a miracle. I am just going to keep them in this bowl, as they are and enjoy them.

Apologies for my lack of blogging in general just lately. I have missed making and blogging and reading blogs so much....but with very ill parents and work and two full weekends away from xmas prep......time has been very short. I hope to catch up with everyone very soon though.

Thanks for stopping by. x