Happy Birthday Daniel...

This time 4 years ago I was sat in my lounge in Hazlemere, High Wycombe gazing at my beautiful baby boy.... I went in to the maternity ward at 8pm Monday night and by 12:30am he had arrived, by 3am I was sat on a hard bed by the window in a ward full of slumbering new mums and their babies... I held Daniel (fearful of putting him down in case he cried and woke everyone up...lol) and watched the sun rise over the hospital rooftops and felt so connected and alive....

I looked out of my kitchen window this morning here in Somerset and the sky was a lovely pink just as I remembered it 4 years ago and once again I had a feeling of being tremendously alive...

Danny was very dark haired when he was born and it all fell out! which was a little worrying! lol


and as it grew it was noticeably lighter...


but his eyes are still beautifully blue... and he is learning to use them to his advantage! ;D

and today he could not believe that he didn't have to share the presents... today was the first Birthday that I assume made sense to him and the fact that its a day when he is the only person receiving gifts really took a while to sink in...

Nanny's and grandad called in for tea this afternoon and brought more gifts so the day was pretty wonderful for a cheeky 4 year old....

I was going to make a cake... honest.... but Mr P decided this morning that the stress involved ( for him) was too much to handle... and he shot off to Tesco and bought a cake that Danny absolutely loved... to be fair it tasted pretty good too! ;D

So I am off to refill my glass with Baileys and watch a little NCIS before bedtime...

take care everyone and I hope you all had a fab weekend...

xAlex

Addicted...

My name is Alex and I am addicted to colour....


How dull would it be if colour did not exist..?
My dad is colour blind and I remember as a youngster sitting and asking him questions about what colours he could see... I think he found it a bit annoying but I was so intrigued... I would hold something up and say what colours this? and he'd say "browny red".. for the umpteenth time....
if I remember rightly he can see yellow and blue everything else is ... Browny red!
Kinda scuppered his idea of being an electrician... lol

Granny a day update
I have managed 2 more granny squares from my 200 blocks book well actually I have done 3 but one was a granny stripe and it was not a square I followed the instructions but it did not come out as shown ... this one is called Willow... a little tricky when your friend has popped around for a creative evening and a natter and you keep loosing track of what you are doing but I got there in the end! ;D

The one below is much simpler and really quite quick to do... this one is called lacy cross...

Now onto possibly my next addiction.... Yarn
but this little lot is Mr P's fault... if he hadn't found an online wool shop called Kemps I would not have been tempted to buy all this....

This is New Wool Anchor Style Bamboolo they only had a few colours left so I had 2 lemon, 3 teal, 3 mint and 4 sage these were 69p...

I bought some wool from eBay about 4 months ago that had no label so I couldn't track it down again... I crocheted a scarf (in the picture below) for myself and I love the feel and the gradual colour change and I think I have managed to get some more... it looks very similar so I hope it will work up the same...
its New Wool, Hug, at 99p

I do like Rowan wool but it far too pricey for me to make anything large with...
they had some Rowan Luxury Cotton D.K. for 99p a ball...
I order the lilac and a pinky colour but they didn't have it in stock (already sold it and hadn't taken it off the net shop) so they phoned and asked if I would take white instead... and with my niece expecting her first baby I am sure I make use of the white..

I also bought some rowan bamboo soft for 89p a ball

and I went a little colour crazy with the Paton's - Anchor style Magicline at 59p a ball...

Whats a girl suppose to do when its that kinda price?

well shop of course! lol

Very foolishly I signed up for a newsletter from them... oh dear!
before this delivery arrived I popped back and bought some Rowan bamboo tape... I have no idea how it will crochet up but the colours were beautiful...

see its colour again...

I am addicted to pleasing my senses... I love beautiful colours, I love beautiful music that makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, I love all sorts of aromas... and every now and again (when I am not cooking) I taste something amazingly fantastic too! the sense of touch is a little more tricky to feed... I love the cuddles I get from my beautiful baby boy... and when Mr P isn't too wrapped up in work and life I love it when he holds my hand or gives me an impromptu cuddle... Jamie I would love to cuddle but she's at that "get off..fffff..f.ff" age where physical contact is for babies! but one day my little girl will be less hormonal... ;D

well I have absolutely no idea what I set out to write... and as normal I have drifted somewhere I had not intended to go.. but I am pretty sure that's life

Well I had better go Mr P has returned and he and Jamie are off to play squash at 6pm so I will have an evening of crochet and planning...

Tomorrow morning I am off to pick up my Bureau, a plate rack, a Lloyd loom chair, 3 framed pictures (including 2 by Honor C Appleton) , coat hook shelf, 1968 deans new leisure book for children and a light green Spode gravy boat.... but that's another story for another day! lol

take care
have a fab weekend
Alex
x

I can't really say it was a meeting of minds unless today's intellectuals meet to discuss future quilting projects and their most recently purchased crafting books! lol

Anyway Joanne popped over to work out how best to organise a swap between 5 people... and we ... after careful tea sipping and chocolate cake eating decided on a little swapping circle... I promise we didn't eat all the missing cake!

So with all the names jotted down we proceeded to pull them out of my over sized wine glass, which of course I would never dream of filling with wine ... ;D

The first name to be drawn was ...

Nicola (smilernpb) who will be sending a Mothering Sunday gift to......

Karen (Karens Playtime) who in turn will be sending a mothering Sunday gift to....

Joanne (Happy Ever After) who in turn will be sending a Mothering Sunday gift to....

Jenn (Yarn addict anonymous) who in turn will be sending a Mothering Sunday gift to....

Alex... (that's me!) and I will be sending a Mothering Sunday gift to Nicola back at the top of our swapping circle...

So for those that lost track in all the excitement! lol

Nicola sends to Karen
Karen sends to Joanne
Joanne sends to Jenn
Jenn sends to Alex
Alex sends to Nicola

Now off you go to get to know your new bloggy friend...
and don't forget post your Mothering Sunday gift in good time so that it arrives before the 14th March...

Something handmade, something sweet and perhaps a treat ..

Have fun
chat to you all soon
take care
Alex
x

Because we're worth it...

Mr P will be purchasing me a beautiful bouquet for Mothering Sunday... probably not roses... but something...
by that I mean that I will be using money from our joint bank account to purchase them for myself... lol
Don't get me wrong he is very thoughtful and loving in so many other ways but random acts of flower giving do not come into the complex equation that is my soul mate... but a girl needs a bunch of flowers every now and again...

With that in mind I thought I would just ask if anyone else would like to join Joanne, Nicola, Karen, Jenn and myself for the Mothering Sunday swap?

The swap is open to anyone, you don't have to live in the UK and you don't even have to be a mum!
we haven't set a monetary value, just that it should be something handmade by you or someone else
you could include something sweet and maybe even a treat...
send parcels by or before the 1st of March, which will mean that the recipient will receive their parcel by Mothers day on the 14th March (that gives you 6 weeks to gather, create and put together a lovely gift for a lovely lady)

Joanne and I will be randomly partnering up people tomorrow (Monday 25th Jan) and I will do a post at the end of the day to let you know who you will be swapping with. All you need to do then is visit your partners blog and get to know each other likes and dislikes, for example : I know Joanne loves milk chocolate and tea and dislikes coffee and dark chocolate... oh and don't forget to swap addresses...

Thank you to the following friends that have joined us so far:

Nicola (UK) smilernpb
Karen (UK) karens playtime
Jenn (USA) yarn addicts anonymous

If you would like to join us please feel free to leave a comment below

Thank you to everyone that has stopped by and left comments I do so love reading them

take care and hugs to you all
Alex
x

Oh dear... now Ebay has gotten me ....

Well its Saturday afternoon, Jamie has been dropped around to Nanny's to go to watch Yeovil play football, Mr P and I don't do football but mum, her friend and Jamie all have season tickets so every other weekend I end up daughter less... lol
Danny is getting on well with his toilet training... and I have been tempted back to eBay...

oh dear!

Earlier this week I was tempted by an old biscuit tin... as I have been looking for something to replace my plastic sewing box... but I wanted something that I can leave out that looks decorative but doesn't look like a sewing box...if that makes sense...

and this is it.....

I am not sure whether to cleaned it up and respray it... I wondered whether to decorate it myself with flowers and roses etc using enamel paints... in a similar style to a vase I did when Jamie was a baby....

but instead of CK blue's and pinks perhaps duck egg blue and cooler colours...

foolishly while Mr P took Jamie to play Squash at Sherborne Boys school last night (they open their sports facilities to the local area) I wandered into eBay again... and somehow I managed to bid on and win 4 fab kitchen chairs... I had my eye on 4 kitchen chairs from Ikea a week or so ago and luckily for me they were out of stock otherwise I would have spent approx £140 ... I managed to get the ones below for £75 inclusive of postage from Rochdale so I am pretty pleased with myself at the moment... they will go wonderfully well with a red 1950's Formica topped kitchen table I blagged off my mum...

What to recover them with though? would it be too corny to go red to match the table? perhaps something with red in the fabric!?... any ideas greatly appreciated...

I am currently bidding on a Lloyd loom chair... an art deco writing bureau and a farmhouse plate rack... a little eclectic I know but the bureau is lovely and I have always fancied somewhere to sit and write... and if I can keep it shut I won't have to remove and pack away a ton of toys to get to it...

Granny a day ... I think I may have to sit and get cracking to catch up with my granny's... but I am feeling a little under the weather... I think I might have caught Denise's cold...which would be a mean feat as we have never met! lol ...perhaps I need to make a batch of her bug busting dip! ;D

Latest granny square addition...

Right well I had better get on and finish the washing up.... Tidy and hoover the lounge.... wade through my magazines and put a design together for our bedroom... Mr P is eager to de-clutter and rejuvenate it... and he'll need the new tools I bought him for Christmas when he see what I have in mind... lol and of course feed and water everyone... which will lead to yet more washing up!

Have a good Saturday everyone...

hugs and stuff
Alex
x

A productive morning...

Aft'noon my lovelies...
oohhh sorry ... I came over all zumerzet then! it doesn't happen too often but I can be quite rural when I choose! lol

Well its a gloomy wet day here in the east of Somerset and Joanne and I arranged to take our 2 toe rags to an indoor play area... now I don't go to these places very often but I was pleasantly surprised... but I have missed the bestest part and that was going to a charity shop in a little row of shops around the corner where I managed to pick up a few new to me treasures...

Now I know Easter is a few months away yet but when you see a set of 3 cardboard eggs for £1 you gotta pick them up... I then spotted a fabulous paisley paperchase pencil tin for 50p not sure whether I will use it for pens, sewing or crochet hooks...
the chocolate eggs were from the mini Tesco next door...

I also spotted a stripey mug for 50p and I will be adding it to my potted cups and pots... I think a little yellow primrose will look fabulous in this...

and then I spotted a couple of books for Danny, one was 40p and the other 50p...

What can I say it was fate... Danny will be 4 on the 31st and this is perfect, we then returned to the indoor play area and Joanne and I chatted, looked at books and magazines while our 2 ran themselves ragged... the hot chocolate was wonderful and the bacon sandwich divine! lol

Now onto crafting business...

I recently joined "a granny a day"... its not a health kick or anything.. I don't have to devour an elderly relative or anything...

I am going to produce at least one granny square a day and with this in mind I decided that I would work my way through a book I received for Christmas from Mr P...

Now this book doesn't technically contain 200 designs as some of the blocks have been counted in different colour schemes but all the same I am learning new stitches...

I have had to use some yarn I already have as I can't really get to any good yarn shops easily... so I am using Patons Smoothie DK in some very random colours that I picked up from our poorly stocked yarn department in a local department store... the over all effect is quite pleasing but being 100% Acrylic the strands do separate and it can get a little frustrating...
I have no clue if the end effect will be something I like but I am learning a lot of new stitches...

Sorry about the quality of the pictures... I dream of bright sunshine streaming through my kitchen windows... but all I get is gloomy drearyness...

and finally I posted a parcel off yesterday to Rachel at Contented as she had asked if I would make a dream catcher for her young lad and of course I was very happy to... plus I owed her a little something as last year she kindly sent me some yarn that she no longer needed.

I used the outside of the embroidery hoop to make this one and I covered the brass screws at the bottom with some beads... Rachel received it today and she loves it so I am able to breath again ;D

Well I had better go get on with some tea for the kiddly winks and perhaps start another granny square!

Oh by the way... I think (touch wood!) that Danny may at last be getting "toilet training" he has realised that he is much more comfy wearing his Lightning McQueen boxer shorts than a bulky pull-up... so fingers crossed he's gonna be dry during the day very soon!

yay!

take care
Alex
x

Mmmmmm Cake!

Hello ..... how are you all doing today?

I'm just going to have a cuppa tea and a slice of chocolate cake (not made by me by the way!) would you care to join me?

Its Friday and Mr P has been emailing me from work to discuss his chores this weekend and ask if there are any other bits and bobs that I would like done...
So apart from building some flat pack DVD storage and a couple of bedside cabinets I think its just blitzing and de-cluttering our bedroom that will be necessary...


I am not usually a very tidy person... in fact I could be crowned the queen of clutter, but this year I seem to have been possessed by a tidy spirit and I have been getting my act together...
Yesterday Joanne and I popped into Sherborne with our little ones for a spot of shopping... and to be honest I didn't realise there were so many yummy shops there... well I bought a red and white Cornish ware mug... but with my "buy in 3's" motto it would have been rude not to buy a couple more...

I think I need another one in the same colour blue as my Staffordshire chef ware jugs...

I recently bunged a couple of crochet creations into the washing machine to see how they would felt up... they are made from Paton's Jet wool that is 70% wool and 30% Alpaca and I am pleased with my first attempt at felting...
I think I will line them both too... after that I am not sure what to do with them... mind you I could just start stock piling all my creations and have items ready for birthday gifts through the year...

The hearts are crocheted from my latest Crochet World magazine and I think I will hand felt them to see if the effect is any good

I let you know how they turn out and i think I might do some in pretty pastel cottons too...

The delivery man has just been and my books have arrived I think I might make some itty bitty animals tonight... I think it will go a long way to clearing some of my odds and ends of wool, I am not sure what I will do with them all once they are made, perhaps I will do some swaps or giveaways!

Mr P is picking up his new phone this afternoon so no doubt he will be playing with that and adding numbers and email addresses

here's hoping for some sunshine this weekend and a chance to get out in the fresh air on Sunday perhaps... you never know I might talk me P into taking us out for Sunday lunch... ;D

Have a good weekend everyone and if you are still dealing with snow take care and stay safe...

big hugs
Alex
x

Its not my fault....honest!

Its the snow and the lack of sunshine... it made me do it!

I was just looking I didn't even realise I hit "add to basket" and goodness only knows how I got through entering my card details and completed the transaction... I must have been hypnotised!
Amazon needs constant adult supervision.... I need someone with a ruler sitting next to me slapping my knuckles every time I try to place it in that naughty basket!

it is true I have no willpower... hence my size... hence my dreary hairdo.... and the parcels that are due to pop through my door in the next few days!

Would you like to see what I couldn't resist?

you would!

then take a look below!

I would like a spring decorated Easter house this year and this book called to me....

I popped over to Patchwork Pottery and I noticed she has work in some of these books, instead of buying them from Canada I decided to check if they were in amazon...

So I bought 3, my mum always says buy in threes.... mind you I think she actually meant buy three plants and plant them in the garden in threes to make a better display... but I am sure it can be transferred to other daily activities.... always eat 3 cookies.... always have 3 marshmallows in your hot chocolate... etc

Now this book was advertised in my Crochet World Magazine (that I get the newsagent to order for me, it American but I can swap between English and American crochet quite easily) and I loved those slippers that are on the front...

and who doesn't like itty bitty animals...

and I know many of you already have this book but I am hoping that there will be some little (easy) gift ideas in here... I am not an accomplished sewing machine user and I thought if I start now perhaps by the time I start making for Christmas I will be more at home with my machine...

So that's my lot....

I feel better for confessing my naughty spending spree... next I am on the look out for a new sewing box... but that needs to be thrift'd or second hand... I am looking for something that was once loved and used by an accomplished stitcher... and perhaps a little of his or her skills will still be in the box when I get it! lol

Thanks for all the lovely comments on my posts
I do love reading your kind words, I think I have more friends in the rest of the world than I do right here where I live...
thank you, you're all so special to me and I send big hugs to you all

Take care
Alex
x