The exciting and the downright mundane: an update

Hi!  I went MIA for a while there, right?  I've been SO busy.  Last time I blogged it was warm and sunny.  It's now cold and grey, and we've put the clocks back!  Sheesh.  I so hope I still have some blog friends who might read my ramblings.  I've been popping by reading everyone else's but just never have the time to comment (or, let's be honest, the inclination to… It's always a right faff commenting via blogger on my iPad).

So much has happened and I promise to blog more regularly again so that I can keep my posts relatively short.  This, however, will be epic.

Brace yourself.

Cosy kitchen.  Still working up the strength to chop up the world's largest butternut squash. 

Ellie, my new little niece, continues to be a delight and I am pleased to report that her Auntie Nicki was the first to make her properly giggle.  Seems she likes the cha cha.  Her mum, sister and grandmother have all tried their hardest to get a similar explosion of giggles from her but have failed miserably.  This makes me feel very smug.  Particularly as I have always been terrified around babies.  Izzie (my eldest niece) was not a cuddly baby and this did not help my phobia.  Ellie makes me almost broody.  She is a smiling, quiet and content little baby and she likes nothing more than a cuddle.  She also likes my singing (I know!), which makes me love her even more.  (I am currently singing, on repeat, 'Cauliflowers fluffy and cabbages green'… thanks to niece's harvest festival.  Too cool, I know.)

I had the day off work on Friday to take Izzie swimming.  There's a fun children's pool at my local Virgin Active and I knew she'd like it there.   We only spent an hour in the pool and I felt like I'd been through the wringer.  She was constantly splashing me, chasing me, racing me and once even (accidentally, I hope) gave me a sharp knee in the jawbone as she over-exuberantly practiced her backstroke legs.  By the time my sister left at 4pm I was exhausted.  How do parents do it, each and every day? It baffles me.  Big respect.  That said, days spent with Izzie are amongst my favourite.  She's funny, loving and so very bright.  I had to stop myself sniggering when she told me at the pool that it was 'a thrill, Auntie Nicki'.

Scissor fob pattern from The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.

I've been crafting my little fingers off with every spare moment and have made myself a lush little selection of spooky sewing notions.  Stitching witches, monsters and pumpkin faces on these long dark evenings has given me much joy!  I have also been working on a few bags and home accessories for a new venture with my lovely friend Claire.  We hope to launch the shop at homebird and belle later in November, just in time to sell a few Christmas decorations.  We will also sell a few bits and bobs that fellow crafters might like.  We are starting very small as we both have full-time jobs but it's a way to justify our fabric purchases and share our favourite things so we're happy right now.  We're blogging fairly regularly too and have already uploaded the first of some delicious recipes so please do stop by!

Speaking of full-time jobs, I start a new one at the beginning of December.  Still with the same organisation but I'll be working in a different department.  It's a step up for me and I expect it to be challenging and verrrrry busy!  I'm looking forward to a change.  Thankfully, I will still be in contact with my current line manager.  He has been my favourite boss of all (albeit the most demanding and challenging; he has such high standards!).  And I'm not just saying that because he might stumble across my blog!  I've worked for him for six years and learnt such a lot, I feel well prepared to move into another role.  Exciting times.

In other [less exciting but no less important] news, I have had my ear syringed, blitzed my bathroom cupboards (unearthing 4 brand news pots of my fave L'Occitane body cream - yay!) and developed an unhealthy obsession with hazelnut lattes.  I have also bought four new winter dresses, fallen in love with my mother-in-law's new Westie pup and sliced my thumb open on a plastic tub of fresh pasta sauce (serve me right for taking the lazy option).

You're all up to date!  ;)

I'll be back soon - thanks for reading.  Have a super lovely week.

Love

Nicki

x

A new baby in the family

Sewing [kitchen] trolley from Ikea.

Some pre-cut fabrics and FQ bundles in my sewing trolley :)

Fabric basket.  Lined with stiff interfacing to maintain shape.

My favourite quilting thread:  YLI.  Very strong, good colour selection and on pretty wooden spools.

I went to see my baby niece as soon as was feasibly possible: late afternoon last Monday.  She was 44 hours old as I held her in my arms.  She slept the entire time and I couldn't stop staring at her, she's perfect.

Izzie is 5 and totally enchanted by her little sister.  When I arrived at their house, she came running out of the front door to greet me, a giant smile stretching across her face.  She said breathlessly, "Auntie Nicki, the baby has popped out of mummy's tummy and I've got a sister - come and see!"  Ha! They'd just got back from the doctor's for Ellie's 48 hour check-up and Ellie was still in her car seat.  She is so small!  Izzie cannot leave her alone.  She plants big, wet kisses all over Ellie's face and - "look at her tiny little fingers and nails, Auntie Nicki" - pulls the sleep suit roughly up over Ellie's hands to marvel at the perfection of her baby sister.

My sister, though obviously still uncomfortable and sore, is blissful.  She and Ellie bonded immediately and Sarah seems content, relaxed and unbelievably happy.  She has always wanted children - lots of them preferably - and her doctor warned her it would be difficult to conceive due to her PCOS.  Her husband is looking after her well and they are the loveliest family.  I'm so happy for them.

The joy a baby brings to a family, right?!  Mum, Sarah and I group-message daily on Viber and it so nice to receive regular snaps of Izzie and Ellie; hear their news.

The sun continues to shine but it is definitely a little cooler, which is so welcome and makes me look forward to Autumn (I know, too soon).  The heat was starting to make me ratty.  I was fed up of feeling sweaty and unable to sleep at night-time.  I also have really bad hay fever this year - what's all that about?  I didn't get a whiff of hay fever until about four years ago and it seems to get worse each year.  Bizarre.  It's clearly a slippery slope to old age.  Ha.

I'm on a mission at the moment to organise and prettify my workroom.  I bought the [kitchen] trolley from Ikea a couple of weeks ago and it needed to be separated into compartments to help me properly sort my sewing bits.  I wasn't happy with the baskets available in Ikea and decided to make some fabric buckets on my return home.  I'm really pleased with the ones I made.  They were made purely by trial and error (they started off as just the one, quite shallow basket which didn't stand stiffly enough or fit into the trays) and I'm delighted with them now.  I used a Tilda charm pack and lined with pale pink tiny polka dot fabric (also by Tilda).  I am a huge Tilda fan.  I am planning a couple of Tilda quilts for myself, together with mother/baby hares and a mouse with a crown on.  The make-up bags, beach mat and sewing accessories are also on my 'to do' list.

Have a lovely week, friends.

Nicki 

x

Mandy Shaw 'Stitch at Home' - Cottage Sewing Case

Mandy Shaw's cottage sewing case has been on my 'to make' list ever since I bought the book (at least 18 months ago) but I never seemed to get round to it, as is so often the case with my craft aspirations.  Lynda made one a few months ago and having seen it last weekend my enthusiasm was renewed to crack on.  I expected it to be complicated because of the fiddly compartments but it was a lovely project, perfect for a warm, rainy, evening indoors.  (Which is a good thing, given the weather here this week!)  It was pretty quick to make.  I started it with Season 1 of Orange Is the New Black on Thursday evening and have been sitting in my craft room at night - after dinner and dog walking - with the windows open and a scented candle on the go, contentedly blanket-stitching.  I did make a small adjustment to the pattern and used an elasticated band for the thread holder rather than the felt one described in the book.  That way, it will still hold a spool of thread as it becomes thinner with use.  

I think I need to make a few more sewing cases so that I can have one per project (I usually have a couple of sewing projects on the go at any one time) and I am inspired to have a go at designing a case myself.  I have also bought a couple of other patterns, including one by Aneela Hoey and one by Lynette Anderson.  I have been using a vintage-style chocolate tin for hexes on the go and the cottage case will make the whole project perfectly portable.  I pop my thimble in the little gingham pocket and I have everything I need.

Jake is with us this weekend.  He finished his GCSEs on Monday and I am delighted for him. He has worked hard, especially over the last few months, and deserves a long relaxing summer.  It has been lovely to see him and we have had a nice quiet weekend.  I made dinner at home on Friday evening with peach bellinis (for the adults, obvs), a selection of cheesy and cool dance music (from my gym iPod  and Harry Potter Cluedo.  Then we nipped into Cambridge for shopping and fish finger sandwiches at Bill's yesterday.  It was pouring with rain and we spent a lot of time puddle-dodging, but Cambridge is still so beautiful, even in foul weather.  We've had a lazy morning today and we're about to cosy up in the living room and watch OITNB before Jake has to go home.  I am going to continue knitting my Princess Margaret scarf as we watch.  Perfection.

Thanks for reading.  Have a happy Sunday! 

Love

Nicki 

x

Midsummer sun

Hello hello!  This is an English blog so I'll jump right in with it:  hasn't the weather been gorgeous this weekend? Beautiful and sunny. We got back from our holiday in Spain on Thursday and I had the day off on Friday so it has been the most perfect long weekend.  I am pleased to report that the husband's crops faired our absence well and his beans are flowering*.

My mum and sister decided to come and visit me on Friday so we had a day of sewing together.  (Well, until 3pm when they had to go and fetch my niece from art club.)  As usual, we spent most of the day gossiping (my sister is 35 weeks pregnant!  Arrrgggh, the excitement!!)  but I did start another lovely Japanese dress which I finished early on Friday evening.  I love that about sewing, I can make a whole item of clothing in an afternoon.  Instant gratification, perfect for impatient souls like me.

Dress C from "Sweet Dress Book" by Yoshiko Tsukiori; slubby linen with Liberty trim

I am building up quite the handmade wardrobe.  So far I've made three Lily linen dresses by Tessuti (one sleeveless), a Merchant & Mills shirt dress, M&M Factory dress, a freestyled tunic, a couple of artisan apron tunics and this.  Am feeling a real sense of achievement!  Meanwhile, crochet projects I started 2 years ago languish, untouched, in baskets around my craft room.  Oops.

Do you know Lynda from Hookin With Laalaa?  She had the loveliest craft blog and was one of my favourites.  Lynda no longer blogs but we have kept in touch via text and Instagram and finally got together yesterday for chatting and crafting.  I had such a lovely day, we have known each other via the internet for at least three years now so it was such a treat to finally meet.  We, obviously, did lots of chatting with a little bit of knitting/sewing thrown in.  We had such a fab time that Laalaa missed her train home by six hours and it was dark by the time she left.  A perfect way to spend the longest day of the year.  

As if it wasn't enough of a treat that she came to see me, Laalaa brought lots of gorgeous gifts! 

I adore Lynda's handmade stuff and I am so chuffed with this tapestry scissor fob.  I am crazy for sewing notions and trinkets, which Lynda knows, and the scissors she bought for me are cute (and sharp) too.  I am looking forward to trying the chocolate tea (one of my favourite combos**) and I am impressed with myself for still having some of the pink champagne chocs left, 12 hours later!  Laalaa also brought two packets of my favourite Toffee Crisp biscuits (in the fridge/my tummy/hidden from husb)  and a gorgeous Cath Kidston spatula (in the utensil pot).  I am a lucky girl indeed.

So, today we are chilling out at home for a bit and then off to my parents' house for a barbecue with the rest of the family.  I am considering taking some peanut butter cookies that I read about recently.  They have just three ingredients and sound delicious.  My dad loves peanut butter so the two of us will love them at least.

Have a lovely Sunday, whatever you're up to.  Thanks for stopping by. 

Love

Nicki 

x

*not prison slang

**I have become obsessed with pondering my favourite combos lately.  Let's discuss sometime soon.

Stockpiling Sock Yarn and other stories

Saturday, and what a lovely one it is too.  It's dry and bright here in South Northants.  I was awake super early for a weekend (5am to be precise) and had done a food shop and made bacon sandwiches by 7am.

I love getting up early at the weekend.  I have a mega busy job, which I enjoy, and work full-time.  It doesn't leave much free time in the week to do the things I really love, like stitching, sewing, knitting, crocheting, baking, cooking and tidying.  Not to mention just hanging out with Andrew, watching TV and smooching on the sofa.

Ceramic decorative heart by Greengate

I had a horrible looonnnng dental treatment on Wednesday.  I keep going on about it, but it was traumatic!  I was sedated (as per) and having replacement fillings and a gum deep-clean (yuck).  It was supposed to be a 90 minute appointment but as I was practically knocked out, the dentist decided to do 80% of the job in one fell swoop.  4 hours (yes 4 HOURS!) and £800 later I was still very dopey with an entirely numb mouth, dribbling all over the place and unable to speak.  It was like fast forwarding my life 30 years and seeing myself as a batty old lady. (I am convinced I will be as mad as a box of frogs in my old age.  I've suffered too much with mental illness over the years to escape it in my twilight years.)  Don't get me wrong, my dentist is fantastic.  It's just that I am perhaps a bit of a hypochondriac and have a tendency to 'go on a bit' (husband's words) when I'm under the weather.  Thanks for listening, friends! :)

So anyway, after the unpleasant day I had on Wednesday and the subsequent 48 hours of feeling rough as a badger's bum, I started to feel a whole lot better yesterday afternoon and planned an epic weekend.  I have made ZERO plans.  I'm in various offices next week so a weekend at home is just what the doctor ordered.  My main objective is to start knitting a pair of socks.

In anticipation, I have quizzed various cyber buddies (Ali and Ally I'm looking at YOU), watched endless youtube videos and bought myself a book.  I also appear to be stockpiling sock yarn.

Madeleine Tosh Sock Yarn (Toshsock)

Ali should be blamed entirely for my sock yarn obsession.  Well, Ms Pork Chop is also culpable.  The pair of them post gorgeous photos of hand-knitted socks on instagram (here and here) on a regular basis and I've caught the bug. Trouble is, I can't quite get my head around knitting in the round.  (How do you remember which bit's the front and which is the back?)

Trailing Clouds self-striping sock yarn.  Yes, oooooh.

I tend to summon confidence by (optimistically) telling myself 'if 'she' can do it, I can do it' based on the fact that I, too, have a brain and two hands. The fact that these things also involve a huge dose of natural talent that I do not possess doesn't seem to occur to me until I have a giant basket full of expensive yarn.  All the gear and no idea; that's me.

I'm tenacious if nothing else so I will spend the weekend with a furrowed brow, scrapping with a ball of yarn.  I'm also going to squeeze in some stitching, pretty patchwork and a few episodes of Breaking Bad (newly found favourite programme to knit to with husband).

I have also bought a few supplies from overseas lately and they are starting to arrive at the house in dribs and drabs.   I'm so excited to start stitching these Rosalie Quinlan kits, with gorgeous Cosmo embroidery floss.

Stichery Pokery

The Cottage Garden Threads, are simply beautiful.  I've joined a little club where I pay about £12 a month for a stitchery pattern and four CGT threads with which to stitch it.  Such fun!  I'd love to join a sock yarn club if anyone knows of one.  Preferably a cool US brand which ships to the UK.  Suggestions most welcome.

Have a lovely weekend. 

Nicki 

x

New Year Bunny: Miss Maggie Rabbit by Alicia Paulson

After Christmas I always start to dread the new year.  I am not filled with enthusiasm for a new year, I generally feel a bit wistful that another one is over.  I feel flat at the thought of three whole months spent broke and on a diet in miserable weather with nothing to look forward to but [stinky] daffodils and Easter eggs.  Spring always seems to be a long time coming here in England.  

Feeling tired and stressed in the build up to Christmas, I chose not to be maudlin at the start of 2014 and vowed to myself that I'd do everything I could to make the last of the Winter more enjoyable.  I decided I would eat exactly what I fancy (no diets here yet, thank you) and keep the house as warm, light and welcoming as I possibly can.   

Pies and stews have been cooked and eaten, woodburners have been lit and my favourite candles have been filling the house with the cosy scent of nutmeg and spices.  I have been feeling very unwell - absolutely worn out - and have needed time to recharge my batteries. 

I have kept my weekends generally clear and undemanding to allow me to spend as much time as possible curled up in an armchair with nothing to do but knit and stitch.  

I bought the kit for Miss Maggie Rabbit a while before Christmas and deliberately saved her for my new year project.  I was a little anxious about starting as I wasn't sure I'd be able to do a very good job, but I was surprised by how simple the pattern is.

The felt that Alicia chose for the rabbit is a joy to work with and I enjoyed every minute of stitching it.  The instructions were easy to follow and the little dress was fun to make too.  I especially liked stitching the little pair of felt boots.

I made the rabbit for myself.  I planned to sit her on the shelves in my craft room where I could admire her daily.  Everything about her pleases me; her ears, particularly, which are made of my favourite Liberty print.    Unfortunately, my niece saw a photo and immediately declared she would like Miss Maggie herself.  I smiled non-commitally and deliberated for a couple of weeks about whether a five year old would *really* appreciate her as much as I do.  

But you know the end of this story.  Miss Maggie has been renamed Mimi and is now sitting, minus cape and boots, on the pink pillow of my little niece who, it turns out, loves 'Mimi' even more than I do.  I am going to have to make another for myself and have been pondering what fabric I'll use next time for Miss Maggie Jr's dress. 

Nicki 

x

Miss Maggie Rabbit is an Alicia Paulson creation and the kit can be bought online at Alicia's shop.  I popped over to the blog for this link and noticed a little rabbit on the table in a hot pink duffle coat.  Oh my, I'm hoping that the pattern is released; it's adorable.  

Homemade labels for your handmade pretties

I have always loved the paraphernalia that comes with taking up a hobby.  As a child my great-grandmother taught me to embroider and I kept a beautiful sewing box with all of my embroidery floss and patterns stored nicely stored inside.  As a teenager, I chose to study art and loved collecting the tools of the trade; the pencils, paints and technical drawing pens for my creations.

This year I have fallen for sewing again in a big way and have found that there are never-ending ways in which to stock up on supplies.  I love it.  Glass-headed pins, safety pins, sharps needles, quilting needles, gold eye needles, pretty (and functional) scissors... sigh... I love it all.  And don't get me started on the fabric.  (I am currently amidst a very intense stash-building mission and I take my missions very seriously.)  I seem to have developed a particular passion for pin cushions, needle cases and embroidery scissors.  I had been wanting to make some needle cases for a while and decided to make a couple as Christmas gifts for the lovely crafty folk in my life.  I made two and packaged both of them up to be opened on Christmas Day.  I was delighted with the results but started to wish that I'd made one for myself.  It was niggling at me all over Christmas and yesterday I decided to just blinking make one.  Just for me. 

Red is my favourite colour and so, unsurprisingly, I have lots of red/pink mix fabrics in my scrap stash and I found a few odd bits that were the perfect size to make these needle cases.  The pattern is from A Passion for Quilting (great book - you *need* it).  You basically just cut a piece of base fabric to size and then piece together the fabric scraps, attaching them to the base fabric, one by one (I think the method is called Foundation Piecing but please correct me below if I'm wrong).  

Inspired by another pattern in one of my other [many] patchwork books, I made a little label for the front.  

Despite being a stickler for proper grammar, I do love to make labels without a capital letter in sight.  Feels rebellious.

I bought some printable cotton from Amazon and set about designing some labels in Word.  I used the auto format for address labels because I knew that I wanted to make some very small labels and [at £12 for 5 sheets] I wanted to be sure to use every inch of space on the fabric that I possibly could!  I did a test run on regular A4 paper and when I was happy I printed straight to the fabric.  It's basically a thin cotton fabric attached to a thin sheet of card.  I have an ordinary Hewlett Packard inkjet printer and it worked perfectly.  When you've given the ink a few minutes to dry you just peel the backing from the fabric and cut each piece to size.  Easy peasy.  It is, of course, possible to print onto other fabric that you baste to a piece of card and I totally plan to give that a whirl some other time.  It would be cheaper but, more importantly, give way to even more options for the finished item.

I began by making some gifts for Izzie's teachers.  I made lavender hearts for them from Christmassy fabric and sewed on labels saying 'Happy Christmas, love from Izzie x' on them.  I printed a few of these labels at the same time and so I still have some for next year if I need them.  Whilst printing, I fiddled around with fonts and sizing to get the exact look I was after.  The beauty of preparing them on your own computer means that you can print them in any colour, size or style that your heart may desire! I know that some people use the fabric for printing photographs and using that fabric for personalised cushions.  The possibilities are endless!  I like the simplicity of an old-fashioned typewriter font (I mostly used American Typewriter or Courier) and made lots of different sized 'homebird' labels for future projects.  I couldn't resist it and attached one on the back of my needle case... 

I should point out here that I attended a Julie Arkell brooch-making class at the beginning of September and my makes to date have been very much inspired by her.  This needle case is made from a selection of new and vintage fabrics and is supposed to be a bit scruffy and scrappy-looking.  Honest!  The vintage fabrics have the odd perforation where they were previously sewn and you can just see from this picture that the fabric with the basket of roses has a small scuff at the very top.  I like it this way and tried to sew the labels roughly so that it has a 'loved' appearance rather than seeming brand spanking new.  

I gave them as gifts with a selection of cute pins that I sourced on Facebook and Etsy.  They aren't especially practical but are very pretty and there's a little room in all of our lives for beautiful but useless things I reckon. 

Pretty pins from Teeny Tiny Vintage; find her on Facebook

My beloved Jessie Chorley pin cushion bought at the Selvedge Winter Fair, home for pretty beaded pins from Etsy.

I love the printed fabric that Jessie Chorley uses for her creations and I am going to try printing some vintage labels onto fabric to achieve a similar look.  Hope Jessie doesn't mind.  (I'm going to one of her classes at Hope & Elvis in June so I will run it past her then.  Ha!)

For Christmas, I asked Santa for an oilskin sewing roll from Merchant & Mills that I had been coveting for, like, ever.

I must have been good because there it was, lovingly wrapped, under the tree on Christmas Day.  I think it is my favourite gift.  I love it (*said with clenched teeth and fists*).  It is so beautifully utilitarian (almost an oxymoron).  So tactile and so old-fashioned.  

It came filled with a tape measure, wide bow scissors, a selection of needles and a box of pins.  I have bought lots from Merchant & Mills here and there.  I love their styling and, although a bit spenny, their products are really well made.  You definitely get what you pay for. 

This sewing roll has ignited a burning desire for an apron in the same oilskin with big tradesman-style pockets.  And maybe I ought to wear some small half-moon wire-rimmed glasses.  Like Gepetto, but a seamstress, not a carpenter.  Yes, that's exactly the look I'm after.  I've always loved Gepetto.

Nicki 

x

A festive round-up

Hi hi! Happy new year!

I feel great today.  Really happy, relaxed and calm.  I do not have a hangover, for I was in bed reading at 8:30pm last night (yeah, dudes, rock n roll).  As a result, I was up bright and early this morning, pottering and faffing in my craft room.  I am now writing this whilst drinking chocolate Baileys and watching The Sound of Music.  I could not be any happier!

Matching my yarn to my dress, natch.

I was incredibly busy in the run up to Christmas and, as we were hosting Christmas lunch (for 8 adults) for the first time ever, I was getting stressed.  I usually love December.  It feels like such a slow month and I adore the building anticipation as you get closer to Christmas Day.  This year, December flew by.   Time seemed to ramp up a gear from our weekend at Cowslip and I didn't leave the fast lane.  Until Monday evening: 30th December.  I wrapped up in a red tartan wool throw then we lit the fire and watched the Downton Abbey Christmas special.  It was lovely.  I was in that snuggly state of being half asleep but awake enough to register what was happening with the Crawleys.   It was the first time that Andrew and I had properly snuggled up in front of the telly on our own over since way before Christmas; we needed the time to recharge.

I made quite a few gifts for friends and family this year, including lots of lavender hearts, tissue cases and peppermint bark.  The tissue case tutorial was found on the two brown birds blog and is, frankly, genius.

I also made a festive lap blanket for my mother in law. (snorting at the expression 'festive lap blanket' - sounds so pompous.)

I used a layer cake from Moda (a Winters Lane) and cut the pieces into 5" squares - still lots left.

Packaged up with a lavender heart, ready to wrap.

Because I was nervous about making the quilt, I left it right until the last minute and produced it almost entirely fuelled by adrenalin.  I chose a piece of red gingham for the backing fabric and, after an impromptu binding lesson in the patchwork shop by the friendly owner there, I was on my own!  I was dreading the binding but it was actually my favourite part in the end.  I was sad when it was finished and am already planning another!  I *may* need to change our dining room table so that I have something big enough on which to lay out some much larger quilts! ;)

I think Ma F liked it; she sent me this photo from her house on Boxing Day.  Phew!

What made the whole process more nerve-wracking is that my MIL is an expert machinist - she has been making shoes in Northamptonshire her whole working life; even teaching at the local college.  She can spot a wonky seam from fifty paces.  With that said, she does at least appreciate the work and effort that goes into making something and I think she liked the finished quilt.  At least, I hope she did.

♥♥♥♥♥

Yesterday, New Year's Eve, was my birthday.  I love birthdays.  (Especially mine - ha!)

Andrew surprised me with a candle-lit birthday cake and champagne before breakfast, then we headed into London to see a West End show, as is our tradition.  This time we went to see The Lion King.  Both Andrew and I had seen it before (with our exes, not together) but we wanted one that Izzie (my 4 year old niece) could come along to, and this seemed to be the only suitable one - Matilda and Charlie were too old for her, according to the parental guidance.  My sis and her husband brought her to join Drew, mum, dad and me.  I loved it.  Loved every minute.  I adore my family and love spending time with them; time together feels even more precious as you get older and I definitely do not take it for granted.  We always have a great time going out with my mum and dad but it was nice that my sis and her  family joined us this year.

We ate steaks and mussels at Cafe Rouge, spending a good two hours chatting, laughing and being kissed by Izzie.  We sneaked in a bit of shopping beforehand at Liberty too (of course).  We were all back at our respective homes by 7:30pm and I can't tell you how much I prefer a NYE involving a bit of shopping, lunch and a matinee performance rather than dolling myself up to go out drinking in the evening.  I've never liked going out in the evenings on NYE; I think because mum and dad used to go out every NYE and leave me to be babysat by my nan.  Nan and I used to eat crisps and sweets (a real treat!) and pull the two armchairs right up to the TV to watch Morecambe & Wise together.  I still like to cosy up at home on New Year's Eve now, 27 years later.

I was given some lovely presents for my birthday including some gorgeous additions to my wardrobe from Cabbages & Roses from Andrew and some beautiful perfume with matching body lotion:

Smells beautiful and has the added benefit of calming and restoring the mind.

I was given my favourite chocolates, too.  Love Rose & Violet creams and the best I have tasted are from Charbonnel & Walker.

The Greengate quilt in the background was a birthday gift from my Grandma.  

Mum and dad gave me a beautiful sparkly Swarovski cuff bracelet, a Swarovski pen and a Lynette Anderson cushion kit - The Orange Tree.  I will crack on with that soon.

The threads above were not for my birthday - mum gave them to me for Christmas, but I'm so delighted by them that I wanted to show you!  I know my blog friends will appreciate them :)

So, a lengthy post and a bit of a Christmas/birthday round-up.  Hope I didn't bore.  Andrew's just fetching me a coffee and a mince pie so I'm going to sit and watch the rest of the Sound of Music and enjoy the last dregs of the first day of the year.

Wishing you all a very, very, happy new year.  Looking forward to spending it with you in cyberspace.

Nicki 

x

Out and About: Cowslip Christmas Fair

Hello hello!  

Man, it's been a few weeks since I wrote that self-indulgent, whinge-fest, hasn't it.  You will, I hope, be pleased to hear that I bounced back very quickly and settled right back into my cosy, happy, little bubble.  The photo above is me, obviously, on a recent dark morning, looking as tired as I felt and delighting in this stars/stripes combo.  I tried to do one of those selfies that Vanessa (Coco Rose) et al do... You know, just a snapshot of my torso with my arm showing my cup in front of my top.  Well, I would like tips on how to do those pictures without the lady bumps stealing the show.  It feels as though I can't quite get the camera far enough away from my body.  Tips anyone?  So anyway, I just took a plain old photo of my boat race!

♥♥♥♥♥

Life has been ace these last few weeks.  My new job seems to have finally bedded in and I'm out and about, keeping very busy and learning lots about parts of the organisation that were out of my remit previously.  In the last few weeks I've been to St Albans (my office base but it's 50 miles away), Manchester and Edinburgh for work and I'm driving to Leeds tomorrow for a whole day of risk training. 

Last weekend, I was at Cowslip for the Christmas Fair with some lovely friends and my lovely mum and sister.  It was well worth the long, late night drive to North Cornwall and every bit as gorgeous and inspiring as I'd hoped.  Cowslip is a working farm in an idyllic location with a delightful fabric shop and lush workrooms for the sewing classes they hold.  There is also a cafe on site with the most delicious menu - I think they hold cooking classes there too.

A view across the farmland and misty valley from outside the fabric shop at Cowslip.

Anyway, the Christmas Fair was held in a few of the barns and outhouses at the farm.  All decorated wonderfully with fairy lights, wooden reindeer, Christmas trees and hundreds of gorgeous quilts.  So inspiring and such a delight to wander round.  

There were quilts draped over every available surface.  Even the twiggy reindeer weren't safe!

I put a few solid hours into building my fabric stash and rewarded my hard labour with plenty of mulled apple cider, coffee and cake.  Tough, but you just gotta put the work in!  

This little wooden box of fabric makes me very happy indeed.  Stripes, spots and checks.

I have come home with the yarn for two new knitting projects and yarn from Suzie Johnson (The Wool Sanctuary).  I also scooped up lots of redwork patterns as Mandy Shaw had a fantastic stall there.  

I got started on some little redwork patterns straight away.

Mandy's stall was, of course, lush.  The Christmas quilts and toys that she had on display were amazing and a huge Christmas tree that almost reached the ceiling was chock-full of red and white decorations and bunting.  And we all know how much I love red and white.  Just gorgeous. 

Mandy Shaw's stall:  too many lovely things to look at

This weekend is the last time before Christmas that I'll have time to properly relax and do nothing so although I got up early, I sat around in my PJs til lunchtime, knitting and watching Gilmore Girls.  Then, at half past two (!) I had an hour-long bubble bath using every last drop of hot water in the house and started a new Penny Vincenzi novel.  It was bliss!  Afterwards, I put on make-up and some clean PJs and have been pottering around.  Some chocolate tiffin has been made, the kitchen has been cleaned and my craft room is as tidy and fragrant as can be.  It has been such a perfect day.  

Have a great week everyone. 

Much love and thanks for reading.

Nicki

x

PS Thanks for all of your comments, I read and appreciated all of them.  I do understand that sometimes we all overshare and, of course, that's what I was doing by moaning about my personal issues here in my little corner of the interweb.  Heck, we all need to offload somewhere.  

I wanted to make the point (to a person in my real life who I know secretly reads my blog) that when you write something on the internet it can be seen by anyone and is live for many years.  So at least make sure it is true! 

Late Summer Makes

Morning!  *blows dust from keyboard and peers into screen through thin film of cobwebs*  

Anybody there?  

It's been a while, hasn't it.  Almost three months to be exact.  I don't quite know why I've left it so long to update my blog.  I love writing here.  It keeps me chipper and gives me an excuse to waffle on about everything I've been up to.  I also love the chance to catch up on my favourite blogs and read what my cyber buddies have been up to. 

So.  What have you been up to?  With a glorious summer under our belts, we Brits are now revelling in the onset of autumn.  It occurred to me this morning that it is just two days until actual Halloween and I don't have any pumpkins.  No real ones, I mean.  I made a few fabric ones the other week and I do have a pair of tin lanterns that I bought last year, but I *need* real ones that I can carve and put in the garden.  Bet the only ones left at the supermarket will be misshapen and slightly manky.  Grr.  Must change the subject; am starting to feel slightly panicky about lack of pumpkins.

I used vintage fabric for the pumpkins, bought from Get Smitten

After a super-lovely holiday in February with Suzie's knit club girls, I was dead chuffed to be able to go to Meadowgate again in September.  

My little Mini loaded up with a week's worth of clothes and craft for two girlie girls.

We had such a lovely time.  

Afternoon tea at Gayna's on the way to Meadowgate.  So lovely to see her and tea was a real treat.

The weather was gorgeous for late September and (when we weren't eating) we spent quite a bit of time knitting in the garden.  On the Sunday, a few of us took a bottle of prosecco and some boogie boards to the beach.  It was lush.  Suzie and Deb hit the waves; Helen, Lisa and I gave moral support.  The week passed far too quickly and I now fondly refer to the week as 'patchwork boot camp' as I decided on the Tuesday to make a Christmas quilt and - with the help of patchwork expert Helen - it was basted ready for quilting by Thursday evening.  I am hugely pleased with it and love spending the evenings hand quilting.  

I used a bundle of Lynette Anderson christmas fabric that I found at Cowslip.  It is last year's design (called, I think, Christmas Fun).  I love the murky colours that Lynette uses - I think my quilt looks festive without looking over-the-top or twee.  

I've fallen for patchwork in a big way.  Upon arriving home from Meadowgate I immediately started working on a pattern for a patchwork bag.  I wanted to get stuck into more whilst I still felt confident of the technique.  By the end of the weekend (aided by a lot of swearing, unpicking and tutor texts/phone calls with my lovely friend Lisa) I'd finished the bag and I love it.  It is far from perfect (in fact, it's a bit rubbish really) but I am beyond chuffed to have made it all by myself.

Tilda fabric for this one:  the Sweet Christmas collection.

I've also started some English paper piecing and have embarked on the slightly ambitious project of a hexy lap-quilt:

I'm using Tilda Fabric for my hexies, too. The collection here is called The Corner Shop and is very pretty.

I have been inspired by Ali (as usual) and it was she who encouraged me to 'dream big' and start with a quilt rather than something more manageable like, say, a cushion! Ali sent me LOADS of helpful emails but I can't help but think she has more faith in me than she should.  I will be writing to her when I finish the last stitch in my retirement home, to let her know I finally finished it! 

I have actually finished a couple of things too, would you believe (Erin, I'm looking at you!).  

Tufty Scarf by Suzie Johnson.  Modelled by my 4-year-old niece, Izzie.

I started the neon Tufty scarf (link!) at Meadowgate but it was abandoned for Patchwork Boot Camp.  I managed to finish the scarf at the weekend - it was SO quick and easy to make.  I'm going to make another one.  Well I'm going to have to, because Izzie snatched this one up for herself the second I finished it.  It's really too long for her but she loves it.  I am pretending to be cross with her for stealing it but I'm secretly chuffed that she wants it.

Since coming back from Meadowgate, a few of us have formed a 'Secret Sewing Bee' and we meet on Monday nights.  The 'founder' - Deb from Rushden's Manfield Crafts - hosts it and has so many lovely things at her house that she has completely inspired me to make a whole heap of Tilda characters.  I started by making these little gingerbread men, which I turned into a garland with the addition of some stuffed hearts and thin piece of hessian.

I plan to make the teddy in this month's Mollie Makes next.  Have you seen it? It's gorgeous.  

Right, I'm off.  It's a work day today and I've got loads to do.

Have a great week! 

Nicki 

x