Easter Weekend

 We have just returned from visiting friends in Newbury this weekend. We visited The Nature Discovery Centre, Thatcham, a lovely walk round the lake and a fun play in the adventure playground. The National Trust property at Basildon Park, doing the Easter egg hunt in the freezing temperatures, then lunch round the wood burning stove in the cafe. I had a wander down Newbury high street while the rest watched 'Brave' under the duvet and finally this morning we celebrated Easter at Glendale Church, Newbury.

A lovely weekend of good food and good times!

Happy Easter.

Retro with a little Granny Chic

If you are a regular follower of my blog (thank you) you will know that I love a bargain, therefore I love charity shops. Lately I have been a little more reluctant  to visit them as I feel our house is filling up and myself nor my husband like clutter, so I don't want to keep buying and filling...however the pull of the charity shop is a strong one for me.

In the last couple of weeks I have made two purchases which I am just delighted with and can't resist sharing them with you.

Check out this sewing box, it is beautiful and in great condition. I snapped it up for £9.50 and then had to carry it around town and to my sisters house as Lj, my aunt and I had thought it was a good idea to walk into town on a -1deg day!

Second bargain of the month (possibly year) is this G-plan nest of tables. Not in such great condition as the sewing box but not bad at all. Thankfully one of my new neighbours loves retro furniture and has been educating me over the past few months. So when I looked at these tables and saw the 'G Plan' label I knew I had to get them and for £6 you can't do wrong! P.S. I love them too!

As I showed them to M last night he remarked 'So we are sticking with retro in the lounge then?!', to which I replied 'Yes, and a little granny chic' :)

Meet Ernest owl

It is amazing how anxious I feel just asking people if they would like to come along to my skirt making workshop (see previous blog post!) so to balance that stress I needed to make something simple. Something which doesn't really have a function although I have attached a split ring so it can be used as a key ring and something which can be completed in a short space of time. Ernest owl was born this week. Lj has really taken to him. He is make out of fleece so is very soft and strokable! I think I will pop him in my pocket and when I feel my worries and anxieties begin to rise I will hold my wise old owl tightly and remember that worry achieves nothing and crafting is supposed to be fun, not burdensome.

Enjoy making...

My first workshop!

It is almost exactly a year ago when we were looking to sell our house and buy something a bit bigger that I came on my own to view this one. It was a beautiful sunny day and I cycled across the park to see it. The sales man laughed at me on my bike...it probably would have taken three times as long to drive! From the minute I walked through the front door I loved it. I didn't love the peach walls and orange velvet curtains, or the brown and heavily patterned carpet in the lounge and dining but I did love the sunshine streaming through the large windows and the large open plan lounge and diner. A couple of days later M came with me for a second viewing and we put in an offer, which was accepted.

From that time I have been thinking about what an ideal space the lounge and dinning area are for entertaining. We have put it to good use so far but I want to use it more. I can see women sitting round the table with their sewing machines humming. The lounge rug rolled back and more women cutting fabric on the hard floors. Me nipping in and out of the kitchen, making tea and serving cake. Perhaps some chilled out music in the background and plenty of chattering voices in the foreground.

But for me, it is easy to dream...a little more difficult to put those dreams into action! So here I am, putting myself, my dream and our house out there in the public eye with this first workshop.

As I read my bible this morning I was guided to Proverbs 16v3 which says 'Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.' I have been praying often for this venture of bringing women together so I know that if it is a success it is because of God's blessing.

So if you live close by, come and join us and if you live far away then please pray for us! Thank you!

Just Ask!

As I drifted off to sleep last night I was listening to TED- Amanda Palmer, The Art of Asking. Perhaps that was why I woke this morning with the urge to ask my sister to look after Lj while I had a little alone time in town this morning. Very unlike me I did actually ask her...after considering and re considering a number of times before 9am! And I'm so glad I did. I just needed an hour or so to be by myself with my thoughts...if you are wondering what those thoughts were...the picture above of the books I have acquired today may give you a clue.

1. 100 ways to make your business a success
2. Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way
3. 101 Low fat feasts.

Now I just need some more time to read! But not now as my friends are about to arrive with their 5 kids between them!

Ribbons for your pennies

We were given a set of Blackberry farm books. They must be 40yrs old. You can still buy them on Amazon but in a new format. Lj loves to look at them and have me read them to her.

'Saturday at Blackberry Farm' is about the animals receiving their Saturday pocket money and what they would spend it on in Sam Sparrows shop. The story is delightful and a nice lesson on serving others. However the reason I am blogging about it is because I keep being drawn to what Posy wants to spend her pocket money on. 'I want a new bit of ribbon for my dress,' said Posy. Personally this is what I would want to spend my pocket money on too but how many little girls get the chance to spend their pocket money on a bit of ribbon, a button or a piece of fabric. Some of the little girls I know would love to spend their pocket money on a new outfit for their 'build a bear' or a 'Usbourne, sticker fashion design' book...but I wonder, I wonder if they had the opportunity would they rather make their doll a little outfit from a bit of fabric they had chosen or indeed design and make their own clothes...even if this just means sewing a bit of ribbon to their skirt?

I still dream of opening a craft shop. In fact there are two units vacant in our local shopping area and every time I walk past I dream of my craft shop. Somewhere where little girls (and bigger girls!!!) could spend their pocket money. Somewhere to come and learn how to re customise a skirt, or make a new outfit for a doll.

M and I have had the conversation on making this a reality a number of times but every time it comes down to unanswerable questions.
Would it make enough profit to make it worthwhile?
Would the hours I would have to put in mean that our family life would suffer?
Would I be better just getting a job in a local Architecture practice when Lj starts school?

etc etc

The questions remain unanswered but the dream is still very much alive in my heart!

A busy morning

While I did a spring clean in the Lounge and Dining area this morning, Lj was keeping busy. Now she is fast asleep on the sofa and I am playing around with images in Photoshop!