A lovely time was had by all...

After the hectic madness of our Greek trip a week in Devon was just the relaxing break we all needed. We stayed at Villavin Farm Cottages and I highly recommend them (even more so if you're a quilter as Jo has a quilt shop just next door to the cottages LOL).

It's not a huge farm - their main business is the cottages and the quilting shop - but they have a couple of Shetland Ponies and 12 sheep that Lia fed twice a day. She also got to help feed the chickens while I was choosing fabrics in the shop.

The farm is in Holsworthy and is close to lots of lovely places to visit - the closest town to it is Bude, a 15 min drive, which has fantastic sandy beaches and we also went to Clovelly, Appledore, Boascastle, Tintagel, Bideford and Torquay. Oh and a fantastic place called The Big Sheep which has bottle feeding lambs, sheep racing, sheep sheering, horse whispering, sheepdog trials and a great indoor play area - it's probably a bit boring for older kids but for Lia's age it was great.

Here's a few pics

Lia having just put back the sword in the stone ;)

Lia breaking the sound barrier to get to the sheep and feed them

The sheep being fed

Lia sitting in a wall in Boscastle

DH up a rock at Clovelly

Lia looking at DH up a rock at Clovelly

Daddy's girl

As well as getting out and about we spent a good amount of time at the cottages as there is a play barn and an outside play area so Lia had plenty to do. DH took his kite and spent several hours perfecting his skills and I had my stitching and Wimbledon on the TV!

I managed a finish while we were away - Bent Creek's The Red Thread. I stitched their original snapper series when it came out (the one that has 'January Snows', 'February Glows' etc) but haven't done anything with it because it's such an odd shape. Now my fininshing skills are better I'm thinking to do the both of them as cushions.

Here's some pics - it's 33 inches long by 4.5 inches high (hence the problem of how to finish it).

Finally, some pictures!

DH has been hiding his camera's memory card for the last few days but I finally managed to get some pics of my WIPs and finishes.

Here's a couple of reindeer that I made from a kit DH got me for Christmas (with some prompting from me of course LOL). They are called Simply Pooped Out and Jingle Your Own Darn Bells

It's kind of a tradition for those of us who have the weekend GTG to have something to stitch as a reminder - this year it was a sampler with the poem composed by me and the design by Kate from Sparklies:

Here's one of the Heart to Heart 2 quilt tops I was talking about in my previous post - I finished putting it together today

And here's a couple of WIPs - The Big Zipper from Bent Creek

And Happy Haunting from Shepherds Bush

We're off to Devon tomorrow so hopefully I'll get a bit of time to stitch while we're away.

Fabric mountain

I have been priding myself that even though quilting has become a big part of my crafting time I haven't gone overboard with my fabric purchases but now I'm going to have to admit I'm kidding myself. I now officially have more fabric than storage space.

Don't get me wrong, it's still not piles and piles of the stuff, but it's spread from one large box to include a whole shelf in the wardrobe too which is not good. I should say that around 85% of it is for identified projects which is some comfort at least but I have been washing and ironing the purchases I made during my weekend away and it definitely didn't look as much folded neatly in carrier bags LOL.

What I have discovered though is that I have a large amount of gorgeous red, orange and yellow fabrics (no surprise there to anyone that knows me) and I need to find a quilt design to do them justice. I'm thinking double bed size (gulp!) and nothing too formal because I have differing quantities of the fabrics and my mission is to not buy any more fabric until I've completed all the projects I have fabric for.

I love the Stargazey quilt style so I might go for something like that but I also saw a sunburst quilt a few years ago that was totally amazing (it as at a small village show and I wasn't quilting so didn't ask any questions about the design) so I might keep looking around for options. I am going to the NEC quilt show in August so maybe I'll find inspiration there. In the meantime I shall keep going with the other projects I have planned.

I did all the cutting and a large chunk of the sewing for three quilts this weekend. I intend to get at least one top put together before the weekend but would like to get all three done. They're little girl quilts this time using Cheri Strole's Heart to Heart II fabrics for Moda. I bought a fat quater bundle and there was just enough to get the three quilt tops from it - one for Lia, one for my godson's sister and one for the sister of a Jungle Quilt recipient whose birthday is next month. The fabric is gorgeous - even nicer than the pictures you can find online and it's girlie without being too pink and fluffy.

I will take pics this week of my current WIPs both quilting and stitching. June is kind of a lost month for us as we've been so busy and this weekend we're off to Devon for a weeks holiday just the three of us. This will be the first time we've had a proper holiday as a family (if you don't count three days in Brussels last May) and I'm hoping the Great British Weather is good to us!

Oh the irony...

My DH isn't that bothered by sport and generally, if there is anything he wants to see, it's not shown on TV because it's Greek events. This means I'm not a football, cricket, rugby, motor racing, fly fishing or anything else widow and I don't have to put up with missing out on what I want to watch because he 'needs' his sport fix.

However right now, when 99.9% of English guys are not watching the football because England aren't involved my husband is glued to every bloody match because Greece are the defending champions.

When's this silly competition going to be over?

Aching ribs

Well I don't know about the rest of you but I had a terrific weekend - my ribs have only just stopped aching from the laughing and we're already planning next years!

The place we stay is fantastic for us because as well as being clean, comfy and cosy, it has places indoors and outdoors that we can all fit together - a lovely enclosed courtyard and a conference room - which means that if the weather is not great (like on Saturday) we can all be inside and when it is great (like on Sunday) we can all be outside and we're not split up into smaller groups.

I was going to say that I can't remember the last time I laughed as much but I can, it was the same place and time last year. At one point I seriously thought I might die and someone had to rescue the large bowl of strawberries I was carrying as I was in danger of falling onto the floor.

I also spent far too much money on fabrics as my road-trip-mate and I managed to visit three quilting shops, one of them twice. In my defence she spent more money than me but really that doesn't take away from the fact that I spent more than I should have.

So now I'm officially on the Stash Wagon for both quilting and stitching until I've made a significant dent in the stash I have. At the moment this will be a year long trip on the wagon with a review and probable extension next June. The exceptions are:

1. The last Bent Creek Big Zipper kits whenever they are released
2. Any cotton required for quilting projects
3. The one or two more fabrics I need to locate for the baby quilt to be gifted to my impending niece/nephew
4. Budgeted amounts for the NEC and Ally Pally shows
5. Limited amounts of floss for Stitching projects (if I need too much I'll stitch something else)

I also have some things to sell on ebay and any money I get for those will be channeled into buying wadding and backing for my current quilt projects.

Yes this is to do with the guilt that I feel but also I have so many fantastic projects in my stash that I should be getting on with I don't need to add any more. I have two more quilting classes booked and that will be the end of them until June next year too as I need some time to practice what I've already learnt.

So quilting wise I'll be focusing on making quilt tops only and saving up for backing and wadding to do the actual quilting in the winter (exceptions being the last two Jungle quilts that have to be gifted).

Stitching wise I want to focus on Sleigh Ride, Cirque de Cercles, Happy Haunting and Red Thread with the idea that I'd like to get them all finished before the end of this year. I can fit small projects around those as and when I need a break.

In other news we never did get hold of the gardener so we're slowly but surely getting on with the work ourselves. We now have a spanking new petrol lawn mower (so lovely and shiny that it's a shame to use it LOL) which means we can keep the savannah to a minimum and we're starting to clear the junk out of the garden to. Painting the fence and the side of the garage will brighten up the whole garden so is hopefully one of the next jobs that will get done.

DH ripped out the manky old water feature on the patio - when I say water feature, it was a plastic bucket covered with a wheelbarrow full of shingle - and has replaced it with the one we had at our old house which fits perfectly and can be powered from the garage without the wiring being intrusive.

I got a voucher for 1000 tesco clubcard points if I spent £50 or more at Tesco Direct this month (stay with me, this is relevant) so I had a nosey around their site to see if there was anything we could use. Basically 1000 points equates to £10 in vouchers to use in store but if you swap that £10 of store vouchers for clubcard vouchers they are worth four times the value so we can get £40 of things such as restaurant vouchers and day out vouchers.

Not a bad deal really as long as one doesn't spend money to save money. Anyway, we bought a 240 litre water butt and some solar lights for the garden for a total of £59. The lights were 50% off so we actually got £70 of lighting for half price plus £40 of vouchers so I feel happy we got a good deal. We do have a water butt that was already in the garden but it is really old, clogged full of ick and has no lid to it. Oh and is about half the size of the new one. The best feature of the new one is that it comes with a lockable lid so is child safe.

Fingers crossed the weather is okay this weekend so we can get a bit more done out there. Now we've cleared some Lia can run around and play while we're working which helps. After this weekend we're on holiday for the next two so it'd be nice to get a bit more done before we go away. At least DH is a bit more motivated than I thought he'd be - he did quite a bit last weekend when I was away so I don't feel like I'm cracking the whip all the time.

The secret that's not a secret...

Okay now I'm sure all those who should have been told personally have been I can post my exciting news.

I'm going to be an Auntie again! This time it's my Bro and his wife who are expecting and the baby is due at the beginning of November.

It's a big shock for the family as the two of them always said no kids but somewhere along the line they changed their mind and decided to let nature make the decision for them. I'm so pleased as it means Lia will have another cousin and also because I think the pair of them will make terrific parents.

Obviously it'll be a big change for them, for a start my brother is the grumpiest person alive when sleep deprived and my SIL keeps the house spotless so the addition of someone who will keep them awake and make a mess everywhere for the next 18-30 years will be interesting but as I told them, the total amazing terrificness of being a parent does make up for that minor inconvenience LOL.

Anyway apologies to those who already knew and have been thinking my secret was something more exciting but that's the news from this end.

I'm off for a long weekend away without DH and Lia tomorrow. It's being called a 'Stitching Retreat' and 'Stitchy-con' by some but it really should be called 'an excuse for 16 mad crafters to ditch family and responsibilities and spend the weekend laughing so hard it hurts to breathe'. We went last year and it was fantastic so here's hoping this year is just as good.

Whatever you're doing this weekend I hope you have as much fun as I do.

Googlewhack

For those of you who don't know a Googlewhack is a google search query consisting of two words, that returns a single result.

This isn't a new thing, a British comedian did a book and TV show on the concept about five years ago but today, whilst being bored at work, I was playing around on google looking for results for friends and family names and I discovered that Lia is a googlewhack!!! Not only that if you use google.co.uk there's no returns at all (the .com one is a link to her Auntie's facebook account)

Okay we have a Greek surname, and a very uncommon one at that, and Lia is a shortened version of her first name but I'm still surprised there's nothing else out there.

I'm sorry as most of you now won't be able to check as I'm not going to post her full name on my blog so you'll have to trust me on this one...

Happy Birthday Lia!

When did my baby get to be three?

Yesterday was the big day and we arranged a BBQ for friends and family - how wonderful it is to have a nice big patio and garden as we comfortably fitted 15 adults and 7 children.

The weather was okay in as much as it was warm enough to sit out and it didn't rain but it did look like it was going to most of the day. The sun peeped out enough for Lia to get very pale strap marks (I did put suncream on but I obviously should have topped her up more often).

As I've mentioned before we're going to get her a wooden playhouse for the garden but because the clearing of the garden is going to take a lot longer than we thought the playhouse won't be bought until next year. She did get lots of little pressies too - books, games, a cuddly monkey, a hobby horse and a space hopper from Mummy and Daddy.

Here's some pics of the birthday girl.

The last day of being 2:

A birthday pose pre the day in the garden

Her new frog pool/ball pit:

Being silly in the frog:

The Space Hopper:

Checking out the birthday jelly

A birthday pose (slightly grubby as it was the end of a long days playing in the garden)

As you can see from the pics she's inherited her mother's habit of bare feet. Daddy isn't so keen but I've delegated him the job of keeping her shoes on (if it's warm and safe I see no point in getting stressed about it) and he obviously couldn't be bothered yesterday.

May Stitching and June Goals

May Roundup

May Stitching Goals
1. Work on Cirque des Cercles - no
2. Work on Grandma's Thread Minder - no
3. Work on Red Thread - no
4. Start Lavender Hearts (5 finishes start) - no
5. Start and Finish my Monthly small start (probably Bent Creek's Snowman) - Done
6. Work on Sleigh Ride - no

I guess one out of six is not too bad right?

Stitching New Starts:
Secret Sampler Project
Happy Haunting

Stitching Finishes:
Bent Creek - Tiny Snowman
Finish finished Eliza Jane's Needlekeep

Books Read
Still Summer - Jacquelyn Mitchard
The Game - Diana Wynne Jones
The Reluctant Dragon - Kenneth Grahame
The Hostile Hospital - Lemony Snicket
The Carniverous Carnival - Lemony Snicket

May Quilting Goals
1. Finish a Christmas panel - no
2. Start a new quilt top - no
3. Work on Monkey Button's Quilt - no

Other Crafts
Simply Pooped Out and Jingle Your Own Darn Bells made

June Goals

June Stitching Goals
1. Work on Lavender Hearts
2. Finish Secret Sampler
3. Stitch what I feel like but focus on reducing my WIP pile

June Quilting Goals
1. Work on a quilt top
2. Make a bag
3. Make a Melly and Me animal

Current Stitching WIP List
1. Stitchy Kitty - Snowman Trio
2. Stitchin'Spirations - Getting Lost in a Blackwork Maze
3. Bothy Threads - Row of Christmas Fairies
4. Dimensions - Sleigh Ride
5. Ink Circles - Cirque de Cercles
6. Michael Powell - Cottage Garden 2
7. Be Attitudes Afghan
8. Santa's Journey Afghan
9. The Cat's Whiskers - Birds of a Feather Dilly Bag
10. The Cat's Whiskers - Grandma's Thread Minder
11. Bent Creek - The Big Zipper
12. Bent Creek - Red Threads
13. Midsummer Night Designs - Heaven's Above
14. Teresa Wentzler - Tradewinds
15. Dragon Dreams - Dragon Virtues Afghan*
16. Brightneedle - Garden Party
17. DMC - Wild Ones Alphabet
18. Michael Powell - Handmade Houses 4
19. Bothy Threads - Cut Thru Fairy Hill
20. Millhouse Designs - Charlie is Born
21. Dracolair - Dawn Awakening
22. Bent Creek - Snapperville Series
23. Long Dog - St Germain
24. Noah's Sub
25. Just Nan - Four Wishes
26. Coeur de Brodeuse
27. Spring Lineup - The Trilogy
28. Shepherd's Bush - Red Santa
29. Victoria Sampler - Lavender Hearts
30. Shepherd's Bush - Happy Haunting
31. Secret Sampler

A Cute Pic

DH just emailed this - he took a lot of pics of Lia and Neh-No on his mobile while we were away and this one is the pair of them enjoying the in-flight entertainment.

Don't you just hate it

When you have some news that's not actually your news but isn't a secret either yet you can't say just in case people who should be told by the ones whose news it actually is before you announce it on a public blog read it here first?

I sure do...

Back to Reality

So we're back to the normality of work and nursery. Lia had a bit of an issue adjusting back to nursery after the spoiling she received whilst in Greece but after a week back she's much better. She's also in the process of moving rooms which is unsettling even when you've not been out for three weeks.

I can't believe that she'll be three in a couple of weeks! I'll have to get some birthday pics as it's been a while since I posted any. She's getting very grown up now and is a right little scallywag. LOL.

I'm currently trying desperately to get the Gardener to confirm when he's going to come. He's proving impossible to get hold of on the phone and we've left message after message for him to contact us, the last one saying that if we don't hear from him this week we'll go elsewhere. Not that there's anywhere else to go as we had a hard enough time getting anyone to come and quote for the job. We've decided at that if he doesn't contact us we'll do the work ourselves - it'll take a lot longer but we'll save around half the cost. I'm not sure DH is that confident about doing the work but he's been reading up on what needs to be done and I'm sure we'll be fine.

The main problem is that one of us has to be with Lia which means the other is working alone. We're stupidly busy for the whole of June so the work will have to be done in July - I'm hoping that for at least one weekend my parents will come and babysit so we can both get on with the clearing up and tree stump removal. I guess when it's all done we'll have the satisfaction of knowing we did it all but I'd much rather pay someone else!

Crafting wise I don't think I'm going to manage any of my goals this month. Between being in Greece for the first week of the month, a couple of weekends away and a secret project that has to be done for a couple of weeks time I don't have any spare time to get on with anything.

This weekend is a Bank Holiday here and we have to work hard to get the garden in a fit state for visitors as the following weekend we're having a BBQ to celebrate Lia's third birthday (the first time we'll celebrate it at home). Much weed removal, painting and lawnmowing is required just to get it in some kind of order.

I hope to get some crafting done as well but I'm not in despair as it's only two and a half weeks till I have a whole four days away with friends where I can stitch without interruptions. We're off on our annual trip to Derbyshire where no husbands and no children are allowed. We get to knit, stitch, quilt, whatever takes our fancy and Kate from Sparklies will be holding a dyeing class again too (BTW Sparklies has a fabric naming competition on right now - go have a look!)

I'll admit that I didn't get much stitching done last year (mainly due to laughing way too much) but this year I intend to do little else but sit and stitch.

I'll be sure and get some pics this weekend to make my next post a bit more interesting...

April Roundup and May Goals

April Roundup

April Stitching Goals
1. Have at least one finish (probably Coeur de Brodeuse) - Yes but it was Fa La La from Shepherd's Bush
2. 'Finish' an item from the list below - Yes two, the pinkeep and bourse are done
3. Work on Grandma's Thread Minder - A little
4. Work on The Big Zipper - lots of progress made - pretty much all done and ready for the next part
5. Work on Sleigh Ride - no due to leaving the chart in the UK

Projects Requiring Finishing
Redwork Bourse
Redwork Pinkeep
Eliza Jane's Needlekeep
Bird's of a Feather Accessories - Needlebook, Scissor Pocket and Fob

Stitching New Starts:
Fa La La
Red Santa

Stitching Finishes:
Fa La La

Books Read
Miracle at Speedy Motors - Alexander McCall Smith
Time Witches - Michael Molloy
Wild West Witches - Michael Molloy
Anne of Green Gables - L M Montgomery
Acting Up - Melissa Nathan

April Quilting Goals
1. Finish the first three Jungle quilts as they all need to be gifted this month - yes
2. Finish some of my other WIPs so I can start something new in May - yes, two finished

May Goals

May Stitching Goals
1. Work on Cirque des Cercles
2. Work on Grandma's Thread Minder
3. Work on Red Thread
4. Start Lavender Hearts (5 finishes start)
5. Start and Finish my Monthly small start (probably Bent Creek's Snowman)
6. Work on Sleigh Ride

May Quilting Goals
1. Finish a Christmas panel
2. Start a new quilt top
3. Work on Monkey Button's Quilt

May 17th Freehand quilting course

Current Stitching WIP List
1. Stitchy Kitty - Snowman Trio
2. Stitchin'Spirations - Getting Lost in a Blackwork Maze
3. Bothy Threads - Row of Christmas Fairies
4. Dimensions - Sleigh Ride
5. Ink Circles - Cirque de Cercles
6. Michael Powell - Cottage Garden 2
7. Be Attitudes Afghan
8. Santa's Journey Afghan
9. The Cat's Whiskers - Birds of a Feather Dilly Bag
10. The Cat's Whiskers - Grandma's Thread Minder
11. Bent Creek - The Big Zipper
12. Bent Creek - Red Threads
13. Midsummer Night Designs - Heaven's Above
14. Teresa Wentzler - Tradewinds*
15. Dragon Dreams - Dragon Virtues Afghan*
16. Brightneedle - Garden Party
17. DMC - Wild Ones Alphabet*
18. Michael Powell - Handmade Houses 4
19. Bothy Threads - Cut Thru Fairy Hill
20. Millhouse Designs - Charlie is Born
21. Dracolair - Dawn Awakening*
22. Bent Creek - Snapperville Series
23. Long Dog - St Germain
24. Noah's Sub*
25. Just Nan - Four Wishes
26. Stitchin'Spirations - Lost in a Blackwork Maze
27. Coeur de Brodeuse
28. Spring Lineup - The Trilogy
29. Red Santa

Some Finishes

So here's a bit of an early monthly roundup of pics as we're off to Greece on Wednesday morning. We should have internet access whilst there but it's probably going to be dial up so I certainly won't be uploading pictures!

So, one stitching goal was to properly finish at least one item, well I managed two my first pinkeep and my first bourse! Both from redwork stitching finishes:

Quilting wise I wanted to finish at least one project from my WIP pile and again, I managed two:

My Sew and Slash Course quilt (I finished it against advice with straight lines rather than zig-zagging with the flow of the top but it's just a play quilt for Lia)

My Moda Mini Quilt in a tin

I almost had a third finish but I've still got two sides of binding to do so that'll have to be done next month.

I have also completely finished the two Jungle quilts that will be coming to Greece (just as well really) and only have the binding to do on the third which I have two nights to do when we get back before heading off to a Christening where it will be gifted.

So here's some pics:

The full monty

The backing fabric

A closer look

The two quilts together

It occurred to me the other day that I always refer to these as the jungle quilts but the fabric is actually a range called Silly Safari. I think it's that some of the designs are called vines and I associate vines with jungle rather than safari. Either way it's animals right?

I haven't taken a pic of my Big Zipper WIP but I've made good progress on it and I'm taking that and Sleigh Ride to Greece (despite my need to start Happy Haunting!

Right on Target

We're now on countdown to our Greece trip as we leave a week on Wednesday.

I always try and clear down the fridge and freezer before we go away so I did an inventory yesterday and discovered we have exactly the right number of meals required. I'm not sure how it happens but it means I'm on target for cleaning the fridge freezer and oven on Sunday.

For some reason I'm always happier leaving for a holiday if I know that the house is clean and tidy before we go - I try to strip the beds, get all the washing done and hoover round at least - there's nothing spoils my post-holiday mood more than walking back into a mess.

I've also started the great gathering of items to pack. I was thinking we wouldn't be taking too much but not counting clothes we've already got:

• 3 large bags of Kettle Chips (you can't get them in Greece and SIL loves them)
• 3 boxes of biscuits for the in-laws
• 1 toy 'bath drum' for Lefty
• 1 Build a Bear outfit for the bear we sent Lefty when he was born
• 2 Quilts
• Michael Jackson CD for MIL
• 3 bags of Cadburys mini eggs
• 6 Crystal Whiskey glasses (wedding present)
• A breadmaker (also a wedding present)
• Car booster seat for Lia
• Wedding favours for SIL's party that she's ordered from Confetti for us to take over
  

And then there's a small case worth of toys!

Oh and I shouldn't forget my stitching. I have been wavering about taking Sleigh Ride because I know that next weekend I'll be getting Happy Haunting for my birthday and I really want to start it but I've decided that I will be good and take Sleigh Ride and The Big Zipper only. That way when I get back I can start Happy Haunting with less guilt LOL.

I'd really like to get Sleigh Ride finished this year but given I haven't stitched on it once yet I'm not sure how I'll manage it! It's quite a quick stitch (lots of half stitches) so I should really get my finger out - I think the problem is all the blues! Still, if I don't really have a choice of things to stitch in Greece then I'm bound to get on with some of it right?

I'm pretty much on target with my Quilting goals for this month too. I'm closer to getting all the jungle quilts finished (one's done, one needs binding and one needs quilting) and I've finished one of my other projects and just have two sides worth of binding to do to finish two other projects. The problem I have today is that my index finger is very sore from sewing bindings - I do have a leather thimble but I sew a lot slower when I'm wearing it. Still, a couple of nights of machining to get the third quilt done and I should be healed enough to be able to stitch the bindings without too much pain.

On a completely different subject, I don't normally comment on news but I'm rather sad to hear of the death of Mark Speight. I'm sure we all knew he was dead when he went missing last Monday but it's still terrible to get confirmation. Mark was one of the presenters of Smarteenies, a CBeebies programme that Lia adores, which is why I've spent quite a lot of time in the last couple of years watching him on TV and he was always good entertainment. It's a shocking waste of two lives and I applaud his family for emphasising that drugs killed him as surely as they killed his fiance.

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

It was inevitable really. DH has wanted a Wii since they came out but I always found excuses. Not that I didn't want one you understand but I wasn't sure how much it would be used and it's a lot of money to spend on something that sits in a cupboard. We've had games consoles in the past where the novelty has worn off very quickly and I wanted to be sure that we would make good use of it.

Anyway a friend came to stay for the weekend and she brought her Wii and DH was totally smitten. Not only can he play games, he can surf the net and watch Greek TV channels on the TV rather than a laptop. Oh and one of the big selling points for me was that our old nintendo console games can also be played on it which means that some of the guilt mentioned in the last paragraph may ease LOL.

So this afternoon I went and got him his Wii and he's the happiest husband on the planet right now. Yes I spent almost the same amount as our weekend away in June will cost but it's back to that quality of life I was talking about in a previous post, the weather is still cold and wet so why wait till the summer to buy one when I'll be wanting him to help in the garden or we'll be going out and about. He'll get much more from it than just playing a few games so really how can I object.

Oh and, of course, I'll have some fun too ;)

Bad Mummy Day

Lia didn't want to go to nursery today. This meant the day started with whining which quickly moved up to tears and then finally screams. All before 8am.

The result being a snotty, tearful child being left at nursery and me sitting at work with a blinding headache and feeling like a bad Mum.

This isn't a play for sympathy, I know that by now she'll have totally forgotten her angst and she'll be enjoying herself and I've just taken some painkillers so the headache will go soon. The lingering 'bad mummy' feeling will probably stay for a lot of the day but when I pick up my happy child this evening that will go too.

It's just that some days start badly you know?

And no, I don't have any regrets about her attending nursery, I'd be a much worse Mummy if I was at home with her 24/7. I know that nursery is a subject that people have strong views about but it works for me and it works for Lia. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times she's created like she did this morning about going, generally she loves it and she gets much more activities and company than she would if we were at home.

The time I have at home with her is more precious too which means we both benefit.

Anyway, the up side of today is that I've just posted two cheques, one for the balance due for our holiday in Devon at the end of June and one for the balance for the Stitchers Weekend GTG at the beginning of June, both of which I am looking forward to immensely.

I've also sent confirmation to the gardener that we'll accept his quote for clearing our mess, removing three tree stumps, levelling the lot and laying a lawn. All of which he says can be done next month so we'll have a proper garden for Lia to enjoy for the summer.

Okay, all of the above involves significant cost to us (as does the two week holiday in Greece this month and the boiler replacement) but I think the boost to our quality of life that the garden will provide plus the well needed breaks will do us all good. DH hasn't been home to Greece for a year and Lia and I haven't been since Christmas 2006 so it's a long overdue trip (mainly because of the house move last year and my SIL's ever moving wedding date).

We've not had a proper family holiday since Lia was born either (Greece doesn't count) so the Devon trip will be great fun for us all as we're staying on a farm that's about 20 mins from the sea so Lia will have a blast with the animals and the beach.

I have to say that I'm more excited about the garden than anything else though. I can't wait for it to be cleared and looking nice. If it all works out we should be able to order the wooden playhouse for Lia in time for her birthday too. We got the Grandparents to give money for christmas last year and they'll do the same for her birthday so we can buy her one of these.

I figure that it'll provide years of fun and a nice hidey hole for her to escape to. Oh and of course I can have fun furnishing it with curtains, quilted cushions etc.

Snow!

We woke up to this today:

I love snow - we don't get more than a few flakes that often and it rarely settles so I was more excited than Lia!

You can also see from the above pic how much clearing we've done from the end of the back garden

It didn't take long to start melting though so we had to get out quickly and make this guy

And then we came in and Dr Lia administered some drugs to stop us catching cold

And because I had the camera out I finally got round to taking some pics of my latest finishes and WIPs

Here's The Big Zipper (post frogging and partial restitching of the window in the house section)

And I treated myself to a small project just because I felt like somethig simple - Fa La La from Shepherd's Bush - and it stitched up very quickly in just two evenings

And here's The Cat's Whiskers' Alyssum Scissor Pocket made up

And finally for the stitching here's the small Daydreams Wedding Design for my SIL (I forgot to take a pic of it framed but I will). Be impressed I stitched in Greek! LOL

One last pic which is the quilt that I finished last month by finally getting the binding done

A New Song...

Lia's repertoire of songs has grown by one thanks to my Mother. It's an old Scottish song that she taught us when we were small and now Lia's started singing it (to the tune of 'She'll be coming round the mountain)

Oh ye cannae shove your Grannie aff a bus
No ye cannae shove your Grannie aff a bus
No ye cannae shove your Grannie
Cos she's your Mammie's Mammie
No ye cannae shove your Grannie aff a bus

Ye can shove your other Grannie aff a bus
Ye can shove your other Grannie aff a bus
Ye can shove your other Grannie
For she's your Daddy's Mammie
Ye can shove your other Grannie aff a bus

It's at time like this I'm glad my In-Laws don't speak English...

A Nice Weekend

Anything would have been better than last weekend but even without that fact we had a great weekend. I'm not a huge fan of the clock change in theory but one can't ignore the fact that longer, lighter evenings really make one feel like summer is coming (even if it is gloomy again today LOL).

Yesterday was a gloriously sunny day so we went out for lunch in town and took Lia for a walk around town and the park. I also indulged my inner child with some toy shop shopping and bought her some fuzzy felt, poster paints, glow in the dark ceiling stars and a mini space hopper (the space hopper is in the cupboard for her birthday present pile).

The only blip during the otherwise great time was that I had to do some serious frogging on The Big Zipper but I did that outside of my usual stitching time (I generally only stitch in the evenings after Lia is in bed) so even though it was a pain, I didn't feel like it had taken up precious stitching time. Basically I miscounted on the 'house' section and everything was one stitch up - I did look at it re fudging it to fit but I decided it wouldn't really work so out it came. I stitched more of the border last night to avoid looking at the blank patch but I'll get on tonight and try and play catch up.

I have also decided what I'm getting as my birthday stash from Needlecraft Corner (thanks to their birthday discount). I'll get Shepherd's Bush 'Happy Haunting' (this won't be discounted but I promised myself it as I fell in love with a friends WIP), Carriage House Sampling's Alphabet Blocks Whole Kit and Caboodle and Raise the Roof's The Wrong Side of the Tracks.

Yes I know I've linked to Stitching Bits and Bobs but the pictures are much better on that site.

I think that'll be all my stitching stash, there's actually not that much I want right now, even though I am still enjoying stitching. I might get some cash from the in-laws in which case I'll probably get some quilting fabrics but they might wait and give it to me when we're in Greece in a few weeks in which case I'm sure it'll get spent out there.

Another nice thing that happened this weekend was confirmation that my cousins from Oz are going to be visiting in August. I haven't seen them since our wedding in Greece so it'll be lovely to catch up - they'll sure notice a difference in Lia from being 1 to being 3!

For folks that wanted a quiet 2008 we've certainly got a hectic social schedule this year - two holidays as a family, a long weekend stitching retreat for me, three weddings, three christenings, a 40th wedding anniversary and plenty of visits from friends. We're free next weekend but after that we're booked until 8th June!