We're All Going On A Summer Holiday....

...No more worries for a week or two....Unless disaster strikes before you even manage to get the bags packed! I'm not entirely sure what disaster befell The Partner's favourite shorts.....nor am I particularly keen to find out....I only know that this is what was presented to me.......

....with the hopeful words "You can just put a stitch in these, can't you?".
As any of you who sew will know, there is no such thing as "just putting a stitch in"! So the shorts migrated to my "To Do" pile, while I contemplated just where, EXACTLY, I'd like to put a stitch...
However, the hols are now imminent (we leave on Monday), and the fretting was starting, as to whether the shorts would be well enough to travel....Obviously, with nothing better to do (housework, food shop for hols-we're camping- food shop for Daughters 1 &2-they're not-changing money into Euros, packing...), I jumped right to it.
Now, I'm reasonably talented with a needle and thread, but sadly, I've not QUITE mastered the art of sewing hole to hole.....or stitching over thin air....Very remiss of me, I know...I really MUST look into signing up for that particular workshop! Anyway, I decided to do what came naturally....

"Concerned" is the most polite adjective I can find, to describe The Partner's reaction, to seeing his shorts and my scrap bag, held in the same pair of hands, at the same time....
Still, I'm quite pleased with the result, and I can now safely pass the shorts as "fit to travel". Tick that box!
So, I will love you and leave you now, my friends, while I go and rub shoulders with a few French people. Rendez-vous back here in a couple of weeks... Au revoir!

Happy Birthday!!

Nineteen years ago, in a small French town, just north of Paris, Daughter No.2 made her way into my world.....and there's not been a dull moment since! Happy Birthday, my darling girl...hope you've enjoyed your special day....especially the part where I decided to share your baby photos (my GOODNESS-all that HAIR!!) with Boyfriend and Best Friend.....
Needless to say, when pressies and frivolities are to be had, there has not been much needlework to report on today. The only thing that bears any link to sewing, is the present I gave Daughter No.2......After years of nagging (her part), and years of heels being dug in (my part), I have finally given in. A cutting mat has exchanged hands. A rotary cutter given and recieved. Fat quarters have been "oohed" and "aahed" over. And finally, promises have been made......I am going to teach Birthday Girl how to patchwork and quilt....
I realise that by now, several of you have keeled over through sheer.....what's the word??.....boredom. Others are on bended knee, thanking higher deities that I'm not THEIR mother. But a very few of you will actually understand this gift, and remember back to when you were taught paper piecing, ironing seams and the value of tiny, even stitches......
Watch this space....I'm going on a Birthday Cake Hunt....See you soon!

Such A Wonderful Day.....

Today really was just that...wonderful...It started with a shopping spree, here,

all thanks to the lovely, lovely parents at my Pre-School. It was SUCH fun to visit the new store in Bournemouth, with my friend and her daughters, having left Partner and Son at home for the morning. We went round and round the store, upstairs and downstairs. Then upstairs again....just because we could!! At one point, we contemplated moving in, taking up Squatters' Rights....after all, there were pretty armchairs, a washbasin, a table or two and even a bed. All delightflorally co-ordinated. What more could a girl need??
 As much as I adore the Partner and the Son, it was a little slice of heaven, to be able to take my time...to not have to listen to endless "Are you finished yet.....can we go yet......I'm bored..." And that's just the Partner..... Thank you, THANK YOU to all my parents!
From Cath, we picked up lunch to take back to the Stay-at-Homers, and pinic-ed with them at my friend's house, before heading off to the beach for the afternoon. Here, things got a bit damp, as I got a bit carried away, helping my son gain a bit of confidence, swimming in the waves. The original plan had been to go in up to my knees. Best laid plans of mice, men and mother's.....A few large waves later and I'm completely soggy, right up to my chest. Fatal Flaw part-I was wearing my skirt and t-shirt...and nothing dry to change into, for the car journey home. Ho Hum...
Then, on arriving home, look what lovely Mr. Postman had left for me....

my order from Fabric Rehab! They sell packets of scraps for just £2.50. The photo shows 2 packs, and most of the pieces are quite large.                                                                                                           

My favourite ones are this one.....                                                                                                            

and this one.......

No idea what they're called...and obviously wouldn't use them together, but they made me smile, at the end of a very smiley day. Thank you, Sarah, Beckie and Cassy for sharing the smiles.....and special thanks to my Two Best Boys for letting me have some quiet Cath time......                                                                       

Mad Dogs And Englishmen.....

Should that be "Englishperson", to remain politically correct? Well, whatever the correctness of the situation, that's the plan for today.......Picnic packing duties will commence shortly, and then it's all off to the beach for lunch.
 When I say "all", I actually mean the partner, the boy and me. Daughters 1 and 2 will not be joining us. I'm actually still not sure when it happened, but I've become a member of a "Half-Family". Once upon a very long time ago, I used to have two daughters who hung off my every limb, if not quite my every word....And now I've been dumped! I understand that life has dealt me an interesting hand of cards, giving me an 11 year gap between having two very girlie girls, and then one very boyie boy, but it's not completely unheard of! I'm not alone in the world of "Big Gaps And Surprises"!
 Perhaps it's the gender difference? Daughters 1 and 2 would happily skip round Gap, Next, H&M and the like (I'd say Hollister too, but you can't skip in there unless you have a torch...you'd bump into something!!), whereas the bribe money needed to sedate my son in these areas, would quite possibly bankrupt me. Suggest, on the other hand, that role reversal happens, and said daughters come to kick a ball around on the rec, and they need blue-lighting in to the nearest oxygen-tent supplier. And believe me, my friends......think it's difficult trying to assert parental authority over your 8 year olds? You're a lost cause if you try it with the "Young Adults" in your life!!
So, time to sort through sandwich fillings, and various half empty bottles of factors 30, 50 and sun-block....Not entirely sure what happened to my fabulous plans of sewing my way through the holidays...

The Sun Is A-Shining To Welcome The Day....

Can you believe it? First day of the holidays (I never think the weekend counts, as I get those off anyway!) and the sun is shining!!! And, best of all best things, I turned the alarm clock setting off on my phone!! I realise that I will still wake up at EXACTLY the same time anyway (I have three children and three dogs, for goodness sake!), but it just FEELS so much better, when the alarm isn't telling you "WAKE UP NOW"!!
The only cloud on the horizon, is my dentist appointment, at lunchtime. I'm sure he is a perfectly nice chap, outside his surgery, but I REALLY don't like him, or his apparatus, during surgery hours. I try to man-up, as I obviously don't want to pass my worries onto my children, but the cold sweats start as soon as I see that chair....
On a happier note, I decided to do some of these....

......small, fleecy blankets, hand finished with a pretty binding. They're big enough to use in a buggy, or just the right size for little "mummy's" to wrap their dolls in. Anyway, I was looking for a portable project to take away camping with me, next week, and as much as I love making my quilts, "portable" isn't the adjective that readily springs to mind, when describing them. These should be just right for popping into a corner, and all I'll need to take is my thimble, thread and needle. And scissors. And glasses.
We'll see. (Well, if I remember my glasses, we will.) My views as to what creates a perfect camping holiday (sitting with copious cups of tea, a stack of glossy magazines and plenty of needlework), differs somewhat to my partner and son's views (racing around chasing a football, racing around chasing a frisbee, racing around chasing waves....obviously, this last one can only be possible if there is a beach involved). You'll have noticed that I haven't mentioned my daughters' views on camping holidays. This is because, at 21 and 19, they only have views if there is running hot water, a king sized bed, and pretty hotel surroundings.....
Still, camping is a whole, lazy, get-up-late week away yet.....Plenty of time to catch up with friends, have a few (hundred) cuppas, do some proper sewing, start packing....
And on that note, I think the kettle has boiled....thanks for dropping by....see you soon......

A Soggy Sort Of Day...

I'm sitting here, blogging, feeling as though I've been dragged through my late Nan's mangle. How she used to fret, as she stood beside me, turning the handle, worrying that my fingers would get too close, and become crushed between the rollers. Well, let me tell you Nan, I feel as though the whole of me has just been given one of your laundry-day sheet treatments...Not that I look any the slimmer for it! I'd better explain....
In my normal day job, I run a Pre-School. Now, although I'm not known for my paperwork skills or my organisational ones, either, I'm quite good (bang own drum here, blow own trumpet....heck, I'm my own one-man-band) at getting on with the children, in a no-nonsense, JoyceGrenfell (see previous blogs) sort of way. And I absolutely ADORE them. However, today was Leavers' Party Day, and the end of my school year. A day where we have a few party games, some party food, yet more party food, and then the parents all return, to share in a small Presentation Ceremony, during which each Leaver is called forward, applauded and given a book, as a present to remember us by. Normally, I'm quite emotional during this part of the day. Past parents happily giggle, as they discuss my tearful farewells, perhaps comparing them to previous years.
Well, let me tell you, this one should go down in the history books, as the WORST one EVER!! The tears started flowing last night, as I finished wrapping the books. They then started again this morning, when a friend mentioned the fateful words "End Of Term", over a cuppa in M&S, before the party started. Thanks, Emma. SEVERAL tears were shed when I started to welcome the children into school....Long story, short.. I SOBBED my way through the Presentation. I SOBBED when I said bye-bye to my littlies. I SOBBED when I got home, and looked through the kind and thoughtful gifts and cards that the parents and children had given me..... And I am now, officially, a rather soggy, puffy-faced (no elegant Sophia Loren graceful tears for me, my friends!) headache-y wreck.
To jump to my defense (well, I can possibly manage a limp, and only then because I have to...no-one else will), this year was a BIGGIE. Twenty, out of thirty-four children, leaving me, and of those, half of them we've known since they were mere twinkles in their mummy's eyes....ok..a couple of the older ones were new born babies, when we first met... Anyway, that's the reason behind my soggy day.....
Moving on (and remembering why I started a blog in the first place).... I've finished the quilt.....

I'm quite pleased with the way it came together, finishing at a reasonable 35" square, making it ideal for a cot, or perhaps a playmat? I'm selling this one, so if you're interested, get in touch!

I'm going to go and lie down in a darkened room now.....clutching cucumber slices for the swelling....I hope you all have a lovely weekend. xx

Tasty finishings? Dessert anyone?

Hello. Here I am again, and STILL no finished quilt to show you. I'm SOOOOO close to finishing, I can almost taste it....which, in a rather tenuous link, is precisely why I've nothing to show you. Instead of hand finishing the binding on present WIP, I went out with the girls from work. To an all you can eat restaurant.
The place is AMAZING! I'd been before, so knew what to expect, but it was fun to watch my friends' reactions.
Two hundred and fifty dishes on offer. Chinese dishes rubbing shoulders with Indian dishes. Sushi resting happily next door to the noodle bar. Eton Mess trying not to muscle in on the profiteroles. And I've not even MENTIONED the two permanent chocolate fountains.....need I say more?? Eye popping, seam stretching heaven. You can be rest assured that I seriously tested the "All You Can Eat" philosophy. To the enthium degree. The only antidote to that Eaten-So-Much-It's-Painful-To-Breath Syndrome, is, as you all well know, get your dressing gown on, and collapse on your couch.....
Which is precisely what I've done. However. Fatal flaw to my Relieving Plan. I have to drive (an hour round trip) and collect my daughter, as she's returning from London this evening. Technically, I suppose she's returning tomorrow morning, as her coach isn't due in 'til after midnight. So, I've been forced to come to the decision that I will be collecting her in my dressing gown. It is a Cath Kidston one, so obviously it'll be okay! And like I said... I was FORCED to make this decision.....my tummy literally REFUSED point blank to be strapped back into my jeans....
It'll be ok. As long as I manage to get there, and back without a puncture, all will be well........
And so, as my fellow over-indulgers are probably lying, prone, in their respective beds (I WILL name and shame you Linda, Annabel, Romaine and Jane!), I'm about to don my shoes and head out into the night...Hmmm....Fluffy, blue polka dot and walking boots....PLEASE don't let me get a flat tyre...Please don't let me get a flat tyre...PLEASE don't let me get...... xx