A Grand Day Out

A few days of child minding for the nieces and nephew are going on right now. A day at home with crafting and play and an afternoon at the (very local just-outside-the-front-door) park and then today a double-decker bus ride into town to Queens Park where we managed to while away the whole day very successfully.

All in all, a great day out topped of by a ride on my favourite little pony and a lovely meal cooked by my Mama. What more could I ask for.
S. x

(Not the best photos but they're only taken on my phone so I've had to just make do.)

Labels for Baking

A very brief post to share a little gifting, completed up in Norham at my parent's house and gifted yesterday to my dear friend Chris on her 60th birthday.

Long awaited for labels for baking jars. So easy to do on such soft wood, a real pleasure.
Happy birthday Chris and happy Sunday everyone.
S. x

Yellow, Green and Blue

In my line of work I am often asked the question "What's your favourite colour?" The immediate answer is "Green!" but the inevitable conversation that ensues ensures that all the colours get a look in and reasons for likes and dislikes are discussed.

But when I really stop and think about the colours I am drawn to again and again, and perhaps more importantly WHY I am attracted to them more than others... well, let me just show you.

So abundant in the natural world (and agricultural for that matter), is it really any wonder I love the colours yellow, green and blue most of all?

Happy summer colour everyone.
S. x

It's that time of year again...

What a big mess!

With the summer holidays well and truly settled into I got 'the itch' and decided to partake in a favourite hobby of mine...moving furniture and rearranging rooms. No room swapping this year just a big shift around in the studio.

Ok, so there are still a couple of bags of old fabrics to sort through in the next room and big stack of work related papers that need something doing with them but most of it is ready. I now have a 'wood store' full of boxes and off cuts for pyrography projects, colour collections for my fabric (stored in a CD rack in the cupboard!) and drawers for all the wool and cotton yarn I seem to have accumulated since the last time I rearranged. The chairs are now both by the window, freeing up a much larger floor space for cutting and laying out fabric without having chair legs and a rug in the way. I've kept the 'L' shape for the desks as it really helps being able to send larger bits of fabric off the end of a table when sewing.

And of course no workspace could possibly be complete without a few furry companions - and I don't just mean the cat.

To finish, as this is meant to be a crafting blog after all, a very wee bit of holiday crafting for a friend from work who asked for a passport-sized bag to take away on her travels. I made it reversible so it's more versatile outfit wise (which took a little bit of brain power but happened in the end.) and did the neatest button hole I'm ever managed on my functionless machine.

Happy holidays to all those lucky enough to have them at this wonderfully warm time of year.
S. x

Holidays and Hearts

The summer holidays are here! As a little 'thank you' to all the lovely ladies at work I crafted a little heart for each one, with a bit of a thank you note too. It's been a very busy but successful year, and we really have worked our socks off!

So, thank you lovely ladies! Here's to a jolly good rest and a fabulous summer. And of course another great year to come.
S. x

New toy, new case

It seems amazing to me that this blog has been going for nearly two years now. Perhaps even more amazing is the fact that I've kept it up! I do like sharing crafts (and life) in this space and I hope you enjoy reading it too.

Just a quick post today as a bit of gift crafting will have to wait until it's gifted just in case. Last week I replaced my trusty (now slow and glitchy) netbook...so, new PC means new cover.

A quick bit of patchwork and a first attempt at free hand quilting, a magnetic clasp and hey-presto, some of my favourite fabrics taking good care of my gadget of choice.

I expect to catch up on some much needed crafting in just a few day, three to be precise! Summer holidays are here at last, hooray!

Have a good week all.
S. x

Summer. Evening. Walks.

It's been far too long since my last post, three weeks or there abouts. We are so close, us teachers and Nursery Nursers and TAs and general school working/school going folks to the blissful emptiness and freedom of The Summer Holiday. So far I have very few set-in-stone plans for my six week break but I'm sure they'll fill up and fly by as they always do.

Before then however we have so much to do at work - school trips, sports days, transition days, final assessments, settling our last (and enormous) intake of the year and ticking those last few boxes to make sure all of the children are ready for their next stage (or as ready as they can be) not to mention the dreaded learning journeys (I am so far behind now that I don't know where to start!).

But then there are things like this...

So, for now, on my evening wanders I am content to let the madness and mind-melting business of life in school take a back seat while I find the greatest pleasure in the simple feelings of sunlight. And the gentle breeze and the subtle changes in temperature as I move from roadside to footpath to shaded woodland. Here my mind is allowed to leave the classroom and my computer screen behind. And my body loosens up and my heart pumps a little faster as I climb that steep slope or break into a run through this field just for the sheer joy of movement and space and air.

And when I return home I am more productive, more motivated and more energised to do those jobs that need doing - to wash those pots, to type that letter - mundane as they may be.

Let me never forget this feeling. Or how easy it is to reignite inside me. All I need is a little time and the wide open sky.

Happy. Summer. Evening. Everyone.
S. x