Crafty…..

So Saturday saw me head off bright & early to Crikey it's Vintage.

Tea cosies & toys!

The fab nativity scene my mum made, we raised £21 on the day which beat my target. It goes in the shop on Monday 25th November & I'm hoping to raise £50 in total :) 

You can buy tickets HERE

Unfortunately Exeter city centre also had a EDL march & a protest march against the EDL…. not great!!

It was a busy morning until 250 EDL members went right by the hotel with 500 police!

They held the rally in the park opposite & the road was blocked for a long time. Of course the trade died off :( 

So another disappointing fair. This is becoming a regular thing & I've heard many sellers saying the same. I had so many people pulling at things to see how they're made or even asking out right!

I had one lady who told her mum that she could knit better than me so why not take MY ideas & set up a website….. she said 'she must be making a packet charging those prices', well love I'm not!!!

As you know I've struggled with Carpal Tunnel for the last month, my hands are numb most of the time & I keep stabbing my self with pins & needles so they're cut as well. You know I thought SOD IT….. let them knit a decoration for nearly 2 hours & charge a measly £3!

So I think my fair days are over :(

It's a long day with lots of lifting, standing, smiling etc & when I look at the take I have to ask myself if it's really worth it?

I'll still be selling online but manly to order. I'll never say never but for now I just want a rest from the crafty world & make something for me!

And I'm sad to say I think this will also include Make, Do and Mend…… I've been doing it for 4 years now & it's hard to keep thinking of new ideas. Plus so many craft groups, shops doing courses, knitting clubs etc have sprung up I have to fight to keep my ladies.

I make no money from this but spend hours doing the website & advertising, working 15 hours on the day of the meeting & then only 6 people turn up!!!

So new year new plans!

I love crafting & have been doing it as a part time business for over 15 years, way before it became trendy! I'm not sure if I'll be able to step away from it all but for now I need to before I punch someone very hard in the face ….. if only my numb hands would let me!

On a brighter note this is what I brought!

I've been looking for a 1950's yarn holder for years and I think the bowls will be lovely for my girls.

And my best purchase

A 1914 WW1 Christmas tin, OH brought it for me as a Christmas gift….. perfect!

 I also got a few bargains at the boot sale yesterday 

Back soon with details about a knitting project I have planned

Crikey!

Yes I've done it again! 

It's Crikey it's Christmas tomorrow & once again I'm in panic mode.

As you can imagine the Christmas fair is always my best….. I'm mean who wants to buy knitted mittens in the summer? Even though I have great plans & ideas I never get around to doing them all.

So my table will be full of Christmas brooches

And some decorations

It didn't help that I had a large order of stockings on Folksy last week so all my stock went!

I'll also be taking along a knitted nativity scene that my mum made. I'll be raffling it off to raise money for the RSPCA Little Valley Animal Shelter.

I'll post pictures soon.

Do pop in & say hello if you're in the area

October Book Review

Another 3 books this month & I enjoyed each one.

Connie and Eva are best friends but their families are the worst of enemies…

During the VE Day celebrations, two women meet completely by chance. As Connie and Eva talk they discover they are from feuding families, the Maxwells and the Dixons. But when they both begin nurses’ training, they can’t deny their natural bond of friendship and become more like sisters.

Their lives intertwine as Connie starts courting Eva’s brother, Roger, a bomb disposal expert. In her heart, Connie holds a torch for local artist and freespirit Eugene, but a dark memory from her past makes her wary of trusting any man.

The two women are determined to uncover the secrets that have plagued them and kept the two families at war for so long. But can their friendship survive the shocking truth?

Another bargain Kindle book from Amazon. Set just after WW2 it brings 2 families together, a traditional love story with a very good twist!

For 99p your can't go wrong!

9/10

Getting married in the 1950s was quite a different experience to how it is today. After the independence of the wartime years, women now had to leave their jobs when they married and support their husband by creating a spotless home, delicious meals and an inviting bedroom. From ingenious cleaning tips, ration-book recipes and home decor inspiration, the homemaking methods of the 1950s give a hilarious and poignant insight into the lives of women in that decade. In A 1950s Housewife, author, wife, mother and grandmother Sheila Hardy collects heart-warming personal anecdotes from those women, many of whom are now in their eighties, who embarked on married life during this fascinating post-war period and provides a heart-warming trip down memory lane for any wife or child of the 1950s.

I'd heard mixed reviews about this book but I must confess I couldn't put it down. I found it fascinating & it made me ask my parents loads of questions plus all my older volunteers. I found it odd that a lot of things in the book were the same as when I was growing up in the 70's. the world has changed so much in the 40 years I've been alive….. you sometimes forget that! I'm looking forward to reading the next book about bringing up baby.

10/10

It is April 1939 and unaware that the German war machine is advancing towards the Channel Islands, seventeen-year-old Meg Colivet and her sister are enjoying a holiday in Oxford with their aunt. Here Meg meets charismatic German undergraduate Rayner Weiss and the couple fall passionately in love. But all too soon, Britain is at war with Germany, Guernsey has been occupied and Meg's family home requisitioned by the German army.

Meg insists on remaining with her father, determined to help save her beloved island from the ravages of war. And then she finds herself face to face with Rayner - now a German officer - once more and her life is thrown into turmoil as they risk their lives to meet in secret . As the conflict in Europe intensifies, basic provisions become scarce and soon the people Meg loves come under threat. Torn between her love for Rayner and her duty to her family and the island she grew up on, a heartbroken Meg has a terrible choice to make...

This is the 2nd Lily Baxter book I've read & I've got 1 more to go. I enjoyed it, it was a quick easy read but it didn't blow me away. Maybe a good book to read on holiday or a long journey, you don't need to concentrate that much! There was no surprises but still a nice read.

8/10

I'm in the middle of book 29 at the moment, with only a few weeks left of 2013 & can't safely say I'm not going to hit 50! I keep choosing books with over 500 pages….. must be more careful next year!

Have you read any good books? 

I'd love to hear your recommendations.

Remembrance Day

'They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old

Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning

We will remember them'

October 2013

October has been & gone.

This month Make, Do and Mend got a new home in my shop, we had lots of autumn sunshine that the girls loved, new shoes, knitting bunny slippers & getting ready for Halloween!

I had a bad foot, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome & a very bad cold……but all in all October was a good month.

Today we're celebrating the girls first birthday……. yes it's really a year since they came to live with us.

Special birthday breakfast

November 2012

Looking more relaxed than last year!

They've come along way from being near feral, they now sleep in my bed & Popsy likes to be kissed lots. 

Back soon with my October book review