Hi! Just wanted to see if anyone was still there after all this time.
You see I'm planning to make patterns and sell them. Patterns for ladies to make clothes that they'll actually want to wear. More than once hopefully, so you can make your favourite dress or whatever again and again. And again if you fancy.Revolutionary I know, clothes women want to wear, not clothes that make you feel like mutton dressed as mutton. It could catch on.... I've just got to do it now.... you know me always a procrastinator...........why do today what you can easily put off by faffing on the internet............

Testing, testing....

Button necklace by Iris+Lily
Originally uploaded by Iris + Lily

The big computer has gone big capute (What is it with this big description? I've taken to saying the ' big light' as in "turn off the big light, so I can fall asleep in front of the telly and no one will notice..." sadly I think it's an age thing....) so like I was saying, big computer big capute, it's showing us The Blue Screen of Death, that sounds promising doesn't it? There were warning signs....the mooing when it was turned on (!) was a bit of a give away to be honest, but after we ignored it for the first year it was really easy to take no notice for the following two years, consistency is one of my strengths don't you know? Was there a point to this post? Only a very small one in that I've worked out how to post from Flickr to here, see always a silver lining to be found! Shame I haven't loaded any pics on Flickr for an eternity because I couldn't ever see when I was going to use it.
OW! That hurts! Does it have to be quite so painful when the penny finally drops!!

Once upon a time, a Tuesday I believe, a young lady happily bounced down the steps of Tottenham Court Road tube station. Down the stairs? What all 146ish of them? Did the young lady not know of the perfectly comfortable and functional escalator in operation? Well, that she did, but nonetheless she chose the path less often trodden by the ordinary London commuter, preferring the solitude of the stairs. This was already an established habit, even though she had only just started new employment back in the West End two short weeks before, after a period of purgatory due to cheaper rent somewhere near the North Circular Road. But today the young lady in question was not alone. No, following closely behind her was a young man.

On closer inspection, ( difficult, ever tried casually looking over you're shoulder while carefreely bouncing down a spiral staircase, without falling arse over elbow? Mmmm, I should add that skill to my C.V) the young man was THE young man from the haberdashers who covered her buttons (that's not a euphemism for anything, he really did cover buttons...) the previous year. Then her legs did that funny thing, when they independently get very self conscience and decide they're off to audition for a role in a Monty Python sketch. So the young lady gives him her best smile, and he talks to her. Thank heavens! I hear you all sigh. He makes some idle chit chat about it being Valentines Day, she laughs, and it turns out the young man, who we shall call Mr.M, coincidentally only lives 2 tube stops away from her, and has only been working back in the West End for a few days. So a date is arranged - Thursday, MacDonald's, Golders Green (could that BE any more glamorous). And the rest, as they say, is history. It seems London is a very big city but it can be a very small world when fate steps in.

That was 20 years ago, today (it was today, but I've spent so long typing it's now yesterday because today's Monday, keep up....) and the young man is still making the young lady laugh, sometimes even for the right reasons, though they're not so young and I'd prefer not to comment on the lady status....

So here I am, 3 months after the last post. Just 10 days after that post, so full of the joys of no builders, I lost my Dad. We knew he was very ill, but still it was a shock, as these things always are. And now I'm here caught between normality and grief, not really knowing what to write, but not able to stop because that feels worse, like pretending it didn't happen. But it did. And life goes on. Falteringly somedays, but on nonetheless it seems.

And I'm not ready to give up on blogging and stitching, and this is afterall a craft blog, it's just well hidden. Stealth craft. But it's still there, bubbling underneath as always. And sewing is like therapy for the soul, creating something from nothing. Dad would have liked that. Though he would have used a hammer and big nails. And less vintage lace.

Well, that was a bit of a longer break than I intended! Who knew having builders in your house could suck out the creative spirit in a girl to such an extent!
Anyhoo The Builders have almost gone, just the skirting boards to go on. We spent last week laying the floor downstairs and then it's just all the niggly finishing little jobs for us to do, carpet the bedrooms, plumb back in the sink, get an oven, hob, kitchen, you know the little things that make a house a home. Oh joy.
So rather than doing any of that, I'm back blogging! The computer is back downstairs in it's new home in the kitchen, which is slightly more comfy than the bedroom floor! As having the builders in has taken over most of this year, I'd thought I'd write a mini survival guide/ top tips that I've learnt to having your house taken apart and then thrown back together. Though this all probably quite academic to most people, we do seem to be the only people to have got to their 40's without the help of The Builders.
Tip no.1: When The Builders show up, if you hear the theme tune to 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly', and see tumble weed rolling down the street, take that as a bad omen.
No.2: Prepare mentally for the dust.
No.3: Prepare mentally for more dust.
No.4: Prepare mentally for EVEN MORE DUST, in every single crevice you can imagine. With a light sprinkling of dust on top for good measure. I was warned, but didn't fully believe in The Legend of the Dust. I believe now.
No.5: When they take away your kitchen sink and you find it necessary to wash up in the bath. Remember to rinse out UNDER the bath mat. There will be a bit of pasta lurking there and nobody really needs carbohydrates in their bath.
No.6: Developing very laissez-faire approach to household hygiene saves a lot of stress. A kinda had a head start on this one.....
No.7: Get a sense of humour. Essential bit of kit this. "What's that you say? That hulking bit of metal holding up the back of my house is the wrong sized joist? Hilarious! I laugh in the face of ineffective steel!" Funnily enough my local supermarket is currently sold right out of the 'Humour package', but I do believe they are available online at www. laughatyourbuilder.com. Or eat chocolate, worked just as well.
No.8: Get a proper builders calendar. You know, the ones that shows tomorrow (as in I'll be there tomorrow) actually is officially a week on Tuesday.
No.9: The vet will give your cat tranquilisers if he gets stressed by the build! Pussy Prozac!! I've been laughing about this for months, can't believe I didn't blog it before.
No.10: Installing big sliding glass doors is a really good idea. Where else can the cat smear muddy paw prints to such great effect?.....oh, quite a few places as it turns out. Mind, if you look at it at the right angle when Mr.Fishy is in full scratch at the door mode there is more than a passing resemblance to the 'Scream' by Munch.
No.10: Real advice this time, Make sure you like your builder, we did and it worked out fine, though he was here so long I had a dilemma as to whether I should register him on our electoral role.
I think I'd best go and do something now, the short people of the Shires have had a VERY long wait for trouser alterations.
Now Mr. Fishy, where did you leave that Prozac?

Forgive me Blogfather, for I have sinned, 'tis been a month since my last post. Worry not child, sit in the sun and drink beer, for surely that cures all that ails thee......Well, if you insist...

The builders are still here, but I'd thought you might enjoy these little gems from the youngest Miss. M,

Smallski was in the bath the other day,
Me: Lie back and get your hair wet
Smallski: why?
Me: So I can wash it
Smallski, looks confused, while reading the shampoo bottle: But it says for dry hair......


Later that same day,
Smallski: Hold out your arms like this and shake them like this (que vigorous flapping and unlady-like shaking of the arms)
Me, Mr.M and Grandma (suspiciously): Why?
Smallski: I want to see who's got Flamingo wings.....

Honestly you can't make this stuff up!

If it fits in the toaster......

Remember the last time I showed you the front of my house? The new bit had no roof. Now it's got one, and it's been knocked through and it's (almost) plastered!!! As are the three bedrooms upstairs (by the end of today anyway).....because we thought "why not trash the upstairs of the house to match the downstairs?", (dead co-ordinated I am), and then live like that for about 2 months. And why not take out the gas supply to the cooker while you're at it, nothing wrong with pork scratchings and beer for tea, (not joking, I only left out we had crisps for dessert, because we're posh) though the vegetarian children are struggling with the concept. Whingers. (Actually I wish I cut off the gas to the cooker years ago, but best not tell anyone that bit!) And radiators? Totally overrated in my opinion. "And is that digging in the back garden ?" I hear you ask politely, Oh yes, that would be the foundations for the rear extension (Oo-er madam!). Without the front or upstairs being finished? Paa! I laugh in the face of finished!!!!

Surprisingly enough I'm not writing this while rocking in a corner, mostly because I can't find a clean one.....

So you can see why it's been a bit quite on the bloggy/craft front, been just a bit too dusty to do much else other than think, and that's no bad thing! Because now I've got a plan. Yes, another one. I want to carry on with the bits and pieces I normally do but I want to diversify into making some skirts, printed most probably, not in any massed produced kind of way, all individual and lovely. The idea has been bubbling away for ages, waiting for it's turn to escape the "ain't got time for that you fool!" box in the back of the brain, and now it just feels like the right time to go back to the old pattern cutting roots. I say now, but you know that's the elasticated craft version of now don't you!

Eye Spy....My New Favourite Blog

Anyone mind if I bend the rules a bit? Thought not! I'm cheating just a smidge,
my new favourite isn't a blog, but a music site called Spotify that lets you create your own playlist on your computer and it's FREE!! That would be my favourite price! I can now horrify the children by singing along in my marvelously unique style to my appaling taste in music without it costing a penny, Oh the joys!!
More later, still building/destroying the house, but we've almost got a tiled roof on the extension!

Thanks to One Red Robin for this weeks theme and to Bug and Pop for the Eye Spying fun and games.

Eye Spy.....My work in progress...

How apt is that for a theme?!

Crafting progress is at a nil, but hey the building progress is s-l-o-o-o-o-o-w, but crucially, there is progress. The bricks arrived , wrong ones on the Thursday (and a week late...), wrong ones on the Friday, right ones on the Monday!! So we have a wall!! And they're lovely bricks they match beautifully, much better than the ones I thought we were getting (I won't explain that, you never know who's reading!) So it was actually worth the wait, you see, there's always a positive side!! We have no roof yet, it's raining. Apparently builders go rusty if you leave them out in the rain, and they only cure is to lubricate with a strong dose of PG Tips......
Further progress upstairs, the plasterer is doing his thang in the back bedroom as I type! Oe-er missus!! And the nice gas man just serviced the boiler and it didn't get condemend! Whoa! (Excuse the excitement but it's always a bonus with a boiler that's over 20 years old.) How thrilling is this for a post, all this talk of boilers and bricks, oh, be still my beating heart!!
And just so someone doesn't call for Craftman and Bobbin to come and bust my non-crafting arse on this supposedly craft blog, does wrapping an old yellow t-shirt around an old dusty Ikea lampshade (Darling, it's what all the best lampshades are wearing. T-shirts at a jaunty angle? Why yes, it's all the rage) while saying aloud "I'll stitch that on there, it'll be lovely!" count as crafting? Or does saying "....eventually" under my breath negate it's right to be called a work in progress?! Actually, I'm going to refer to it as a WIMP (work in mental progress) or maybe just plain mental for short.......


Thanks to the lovely Bug and Pop for Eye Spying fun, and to Michelle at Hugo & Elsa for the great theme!

New Phase.....

We're at a new phase in the house renovations, I use the word renovations lightly, meaning house trashing in truth. The new phase shall be called:

Phase: 'What the bog are we doing this for?!'

'Tis half term here, we have a very slow extension being built at the front (waiting for bricks, don't ask) and a gutted bedroom at the back to contend with (gutted as in ripped it all out, rather than a room that's a bit down in the dumps and unhappy.....) and I think the computer may be full of dust, it's being rather unhelpful shall we say. The rest of the house is definitely under a layer of dust (oh yes, more than it's normal layer), so much I've actually taken to wearing walking boots instead of slippers. And we haven't really got going yet. Mmmm....bugger!!

So I'm going to take a little break from the old blogette for a couple of weeks. I've shut the shops on Etsy and Folksy until the 20th April, but if anyone can't live without a peg bag/pin cushion/apron, do feel free to drop me an email!

I just want to wish a

Happy Easter Everyone,

and save me a bit of chocolate! ( I think I might be needing it!)

Mine's bigger than yours.....

Phase 1: Board the loft.......done!
Phase 2: Plaster and paint the hall......mostly done
Phase 3: Bathroom.....done!
Phase 4: Involves a sodding big JCB in the front garden....

A bit over the top in my opinion, it's the smallest of extensions.

But the MEN are in charge.

So it's a MASSIVE digger.

And I obviously wouldn't be so crude to mention every man's obsession with size and the importance there of...........would I?

Got 10 minutes before I have to get ready for work, so bit of a quick post this one!

Above: Mother's Day card for mine and Mr.M's Ma's, with hearts made from.... wait for it.....the girls baby clothes. Aaahh sweet! Yes the red gingham and blue flower were worn by both sprogs the eldest only being 14 (I really do keep fabric for that long!) and the middle heart being newer and cut from a baby grow vest thing, was only worn by the youngest (um. I say 'newer' she's 9 and a half....)
Oh, just read that back to myself, the Mums got a card each not one between them, because there are 2 Mums I'm talking about, wouldn't want you to think there was only one and I married my brother or anything. I know I'm from Somerset originally, but really....

Moving on!

And then there was an emergency card making session last night for a friend's husband.

Smallski drew .......

And I stitched....

(and cleverly cropped out the massive stain on the tablecloth! Yay me!)

Eye Spy ...something in my garden

Late again for the meme! Ho hum, that's life!
But look what's growing in my garden! It was a lovely little surprise from a friend for my birthday last week, so not sure who it's made by but it's taken up a happy and permanent residence on my coat. Only I keep forgetting why people are staring at my left bap....if you know what I mean....;)
Thanks to Beyond Pink and Blue for this weeks theme and to Bug and Pop for the Eye Spy fun!

Let me introduce you to a friend of mine,

Kitty Kay!
Miss Kitty is a printing buddy of mine and has just opened her Folksy shop, which I know is going to be full of all sorts of gorgeousness in the coming weeks, in the mean time go and check out her rather fabulous knickers!

Stay tuned for more infrequent posts, and watch in stunned amazement as Shaz digs her self out slowly from another enormous pile of alterations.

Where do all these short people come from, does she in fact live in the vale of the hobbits, and why don't they shop at the short squat hobbit shop where they might find a cloak that fits, and don't they know there's a bloody recession on anyway and there just aren't enough hours in the day to sew and keep a bathroom shiny without getting frustrated? Not to mention blogging fun to be had....

I'm gonna have to stop sniffing the Cif you know......

Bargains and cold turkey...

I've managed to find a few bargains this week.....

Huge stripey tongue

...ha ha only joking...nice new ironing board cover from Asda Living for only £3!

And while I was in there, it would have been rude not purchase these little soap dispenser things for only £1.50 each. Yes, I'm now so bathroom obsessed that I'm actually decanting the shampoo and conditioner! They're actually plastic, so I'm hoping they won't cause too much damage the next time the "cat" knocks them into the bath.

And this is free wallpaper! True 'tis only a sample, but quite a generous one and so lovely that it's currently decorating the fridge. It's called Dandelions and it's by Sandersons. I want those colours EVERYWHERE!

Right I'm now going to turn off the computer, walk away and paint the bathroom ceiling, then carry on sewing because all I seem to be doing is cleaning the bathroom - 3 times a day if you want the gory details! I'm polishing the taps so often I'm surprised there's any tap left. Even I know it's gone too far when I'm telling the smallest person to was her hands, but could she NOT touch the taps. And if they could all NOT get the shower screen wet.....never mind I'm sure I'll be back to my usual slovenly habits soon!

Oh and I've just gone cold turkey on sugar, we're on a bag a WEEK! And this week it's not really lasted a week. So I'm refusing to buy any. Two sugars down to none. Let's see how long I last. I don't predict very long, my coffee tastes like crap.
(Nearly forgot I bought bargain face cream, instead of my normal £8 pot, I got a £1.95 one from Tesco, works well. It moisturises and whatever, just smells a bit like bathroom cleaner........)

There's a funny little meme going around that I found over at Bug and Pop, it goes like this...

Type "Unfortunately, your name" into google and see what appears, this is what I got.....

... Unfortunately, Sharon was a prime candidate for a stroke, thanks to years of inactivity, obesity, a poor diet, and extraordinary stress. ...

Unfortunately, Sharon relies on alcohol to transform into something that she's not.

Unfortunately, Sharon has had a major unfortunate complication ...

Unfortunately, Sharon did not go to Washington just to hear that America has not abandoned the United States to our fate. Rather he went there to receive ...

... Unfortunately Sharon has never served in the agricultural committee as Assemblywoman nor dealt with labor issues either. ...

Unfortunately, Sharon finds herself dealing with mysterious mishaps caused by her braces.

That first one made me laugh!

Eye Spy...something that makes me HAPPY!

OOPS! Late for my own Eye Spy theme!
So what makes me happy? Well, this week it's bubble baths!
Because after nearly 2 years (yes, you did read that right) of having packing tape on the bath because of a hole caused by a large bottle of shampoo pushed by the cat, if rumours are to be believed (I don't believe, I have my own theory involving small creatures on two legs rather than four....) we sorted the bathroom. (Possibly the smallest bathroom on the face of the earth)

It started by looking like this...

Then we improved it, so it looked like this....

and this....

And then the nice plumber took over and made it look like this...

I love those tiles they make me very HAPPY!

I still have to paint the ceiling and get the drawer to fit in the sink unit (boring story!) but we're nearly there.
Just the hall, 3 bedrooms, front extension and kitchen to sort then. I think we're in for a LONG year!!
I didn't tell you about Mr.M puting in the loft ladder, did I? The idea was to board out the loft and make it into a proper storage/play room. Good idea. Great idea in fact. Only, I came home from work a few months ago, to find the hall ceiling on the floor, and M stuck in the loft! It's great now, but like I said it's gonna be a looong year!

More Eye Spy fun over at Bug and Pop!

Mug Swap Goodies!

7.30 am Thursday. Ooo! My Mug Swap parcel arrived! How very exciting! Funnily enough, in a box with Bridgewater written all over, strange because that's where I grew up! I love a weird coincidence!

To Sharon...that would be me!!


LOTS of lovely wrapped parcels.....

Then it was a bit of a free for all, with lots of 'help' to unwrap all the goodies, so the camera took a bit of a back seat I'm afraid! There was coffee (yum!), chocolates (yum yum! can you see the little hand in the corner?!),a chocolate cookbook, stickers, some die cut flowers - that have already been used on a birthday card :), some Cath Kidston cloth and a piece of coordinating felt and beautifully made hand covered fabric buttons. I'm gonna keep these to make something special just for me. And then there were ribbons, the most gorgeous selection of buttons, and some lovely printed fabrics! And these were all in blues and greens, which I LOVE! I can't believe that someone I have never met could pick such perfect things for me! Oh I forgot to mention the mug, now my favourite mug, it's pink with flowers that look like they've been appliqued on. (I'll take a better picture when I find where I put the camera.)

And I've saved these beauties until last, a covered notebook and key ring that were made just for me! I cannot express just how beautiful the stitching on these are. Each stitch is absolutely perfect! (And the key ring looks so much better on the back door key than the frayed old bit of ribbon that was on there!) And there were cute little moo cards too....

So who was this generous crafter, I hear you ask, that put so much thought and care into this gift swap?

It was Andrea at Indigo blue designs.

So thank you Andrea, I'm truly amazed how well you know me from my blog! I really did have fun opening this, and I love my notebook ( it actually matches my cord jacket!).

(And by 8.15am ALL the chocolates were gone! No surprise there then....)

EDITED: Andrea has much much nicer pictures of my goodies over on her blog, go look HERE!

It's hip to be square....

God help me, I just quoted Huey Lewis and the News!

I made a square pin cushion, because basically I got fed up of sewing in circles to make the round ones!

But, and now be honest, should I make more of these or does it look like a baby's toy block. Mr.M agreed just a bit too quickly that it did so I'm leaning towards yes.

What do you think?

And does anyone else have Huey singing away in their head?

Eye Spy!

If you're playing along with Bug and Pop's game of I Spy, this weeks theme is:

I Spy...something that makes me HAPPY!

Doesn't matter what it is, could be chocolate (well, obviously!), crafting, the kids, your man - can you tell the priority of things in this house?

Anyway, whatever it is that puts a smile (or smirk) on your face, get posting about it!

(And if you're not playing Eye Spy, join in - 'tis great fun, I tell you!)

Eye Spy...Love

This weeks theme is from Bug and Pop.

Paper love hearts, left over from valentines day.

Mr.M and I met 19 years ago on Valentines Day, all together now...aaahh!

I'm also loving stitching on paper, and the patterns on the inside of envelopes, always seems a shame to chuck them in the recycling. Well no more, not when they can be stitched together to make a (completely useless) pretty banner thingy! and I LOVE grey. LOVE IT!!

And I love that I've had a bath for the first time in two years.

I'd explain that comment, but I'm enjoying the look of horror on everyone's face!

All will be revealed when the plumbers go - any day now, they've been here a week!
(And next Sunday is my turn to pick an Eye Spy theme. I can't think, the pressure!!)

Eye Spy...My Secret (Food) Shame

image from google

This weeks Eye Spy theme is from Jade at Just Needs Salt.

Now this one had me thinking....I've already 'fessed up to hiding the Jaffa cakes from the kids and that was without even the tiniest hint of shame! All being fair in love, war and chocolate in my book. So food shame? Mmm, difficult that one...

And then I remember...on Tuesday tea time...I can't fry an egg! Oh yeah, you think I'm joking. Only I'm not. I seem to have a defective egg cooking gene. Don't confuse this with not being able to cook, I can - I can't be bothered, but I can (...ish)- I just don't seem to be able to cook eggs! I can boil an egg obviously, as long as your not too bothered if it's hard or soft boiled. Pays not too be too fussy in this house!
More Eye Spy fun at Bug and Pop!

Looky, I made a mosaic! It's only taken me months to work this out.

Literally months.

Might have been a bit quicker if I'd remembered this LINK I'd saved last year. Doh!

Oh yeah, and the point of the mosaic?

The "Oh My! That's a Big Pin Cushion" Pin Cushion

has had some ballast added to her bum,

(only taken me a month to do that, don't tell the boss, she'll shout at me. She's a tyrant.

I have to feed her Jaffa cakes to keep her quiet)

so she's in the shoppe. And in the other shop.

(The pin cushion is in the shops , not the boss...'cause that would just be silly, imagine the postal charges these days....)

Eye Spy...Something Delicious!

This weeks Eye Spy theme comes courtesy of another Sharon over at Handmaiden .
My something delicious is a panini, made by Mr.M full of cheese and pastrami. Sunday lunch always tastes so much better when someone else makes it. And the headline in the background is a complete coincidence, honest!



I've only just realized this is my first post of February, I seem to have lost my blogging mojo this week. Don't know why. I've been busy playing in the snow, but I haven't done a lot else (just looked out of the window and it's snowing again! YAY!!) I tell, you I've become weather obsessed this week, fascinated by the chaos caused , Britain at a standstill and all that. Mind it's a bit extreme taking a snow day when I work from home. Mr.M is threatening to do a time in motion study on me. Good luck finding the motion I say!
I did managed to squeeze in a New Baby present for a work friend of Mr.M, a heart garland made from gingham and a card with a little pram embroidered on it. Oh and I listed some Valentines cards on Folksy and sold one! Still amazes me when I sell anything!
Well, I must dash because, true to form, the chicken is burning...!

Pearls of Wisdom....

Thought I'd share these.....

1. If you squeeze the hoover bag while looking in it to see how full it is, you will get a face full of dust and god knows what else. I tested this theory this very morning...

2. Children are full of surprises. They're not always of the good kind...

3. We're all different shapes. We're meant to be different shapes. We're not all meant to be 6 stone nothing. Would the media kindly shut the f*** up now about dieting/obesity and find a different horse to flog because

a) it's boring

b) I've just had to listen to 14 year olds talking about who's dieting

and c) we're not all stupid! Well.... not all of the time anyway....

4. Following on from number 3...Wedding dresses look better on girls with a bit of shape. Girls you DON'T need to loose another half a stone.

5. When you get to a certain age don't go and put your make up on while using a different mirror to usual, especially if it means looking down. Because when you look up again it takes a few seconds for everything to catch up...

6. I don't think I'll ever feel like the adult in the room. That's no bad thing...
7. D.N.A stands for deoxyribonucleicacid. I learnt that for biology 'o' level, and know one has ever asked me. So I'm telling you...

8. When Mr.M says he hasn't left me much petrol in the car, what he actually means is that the petrol gauge has flatlined and he's coasted home from Birmingham on fumes (passing at least 3 garages on his merry way...)

9. Cooking the tea is more interesting if you watch telly and surf the Internet at the same time.

10. You will burn the tea if you watch telly and surf the Internet at the same time as cooking. Again, not necessarily a bad thing.

That's not actually that much wisdom to show for 40 years on the planet!

Hey ho, feel free to add your own pearls of wisdom......!!