Coffee and a Catch Up ~ January 2015

Or perhaps a hot chocolate with marshmallows, whipped cream and sprinkles?

It’s been a while (a whole 6 months in fact) since I did one of these posts. If you’d called in today, you’d have found me cutting and packing kits…

…ready for class on Tuesday. It’s not like me to be this far ahead of the game, I usually cut the day before. I know I’ll be unpacking them again, just to check, on Monday afternoon. The weather has been pretty mild for January, until this last week. We’ve been treated to some beautiful late afternoon skies. This one snapped on my phone, as I walked into town for a forgotten ingredient for that night’s dinner. That’s more my usual level of organisation.

It’s been a month filled with studying, revising and waiting (not so) patiently for mock results and university offers. The news was good on both fronts. All offers now in and the grades/points are achievable. A huge relief for us all.

Other than preparing for classes, crafting has been thin on the ground round here this month. I’ve managed a few little sessions on my rabbity hare but that’s it. I did break my #nospendjanuary to buy these charm packs. At £5 each they were just too good to resist. I’m still enjoying The Goldfinch and have about 200 pages left of the 700 odd total. Not sure what to read next. Any recommendations?

I was excited to discover that the 5th season of Mad Men, which I absolutely love, had become available to stream. I’ve watched that over the last few weeks, along with the last season of The Good Wife. I was a late convert to the latter, thinking it was a bit fluffier than the sort of thing I usually enjoy. There are some great characters in it and I love Alun Cumming as Eli Gold. I’m now up to date (for the UK) and ready for season 6. Are you a fan of either show?

I don’t watch very much “live” TV, preferring to stream as and when I want to. The exception to that, last week, was the eagerly awaited Wolf Hall. Did you see it? What did you think? I loved it. I know a couple of friends thought it was very hard to follow. Maybe because they hadn’t read the book. I was glad that I had. The Mechanic was asleep within 10 minutes! I’m looking forward to watching episode 2 on the iplayer, once I’ve finished writing this post.

How was January for you?

Coffee and a Catch Up ~ July 2014

If you were popping in for a coffee, this is how you would find Me on Monday. See what I did there? I couldn’t decide whether to join in with Abi or Sian so you’ve got two for the price of one. I’ve been removing the buttons from worn out school shirts this morning, before sending them for recycling. Do you do that?

It was an old uniform sorting, school work filing, second hand chest of drawers buying, bedroom reorganising, out the front gravelling, shrub trimming, grass cutting, midday heat avoiding, home made 99* eating kind of weekend.

A couple more squares have arrived this month, to add to my growing collection, for the Friendship Quilt. Have a look. Aren’t they all beautiful? Each time a new one turns up, I get them all out and try to visualise how I will put them together. There are a lot of blues and greens in there and that will be my starting point I think. Of course I may throw that idea out of the window, once I have the full set! Time will tell. If you’re joining in, and have all or most of your squares, do you have an idea for your quilt top yet? Maybe you’re thinking of turning them into a cushion cover, or some other smaller project, instead. The best bit? I still have more to come.

I have to tell you about our little adventure a week or so ago. We met up with a National Trust ranger, and a group of other intrepid bug hunters, to go on a glow worm walk. The sun had not quite disappeared at 9.30pm, when we set off, but as darkness descended, on Fontmell Downs, we were rewarded with this amazing sight. With a bit of jiggery pokery, involving a small LED torch and my phone, I managed to capture this one ‘on film’. It was a magical experience and I hope a special memory for the children to look back on one day. Have you ever seen a glow worm**?

Thanks for visiting. Now I really must get back to the pile of clothes that I’m dividing up for passing on to a friend, memory quilt making/repurposing and charity shop donating. Some of them are tough choices! Enjoy the rest of your day.

* An ice cream cone with a flake added to it. Traditionally the soft Mr Whippy kind, but we prefer proper dairy ice cream here. It occurs to me, that in explaining 99’s for those uninitiated, I am quite possibly throwing out more terms, which mean nothing to my friends from overseas. Wikipedia is so very handy at times like this.

** You might know them as lightning bugs or fire flies. All varieties of beetles making use of bioluminescence to attract a mate.

Coffee and a Catch Up ~ June 2014

Come in, come in. Your timing is perfect. I have an unexpected hour or two to myself, while The Mechanic is visiting his parents with the children. I’m taking advantage of it to get back to my dress, at long last. A bit of hand stitching and an episode of Mad Men on a Sunday afternoon. Bliss.

Do you sew? Perhaps you were put off by Domestic Science (I’m probably showing my age by calling them that!) lessons at school, like me, or did you have a positive experience? Maybe there was somebody in your family who encouraged you or whose example you followed. My Gran was a talented seamstress, which meant my Mum didn’t ever need to sew herself. Gran made me some beautiful dresses when I was a little girl. I must dig out one of the little outfits I made for my girl, to show you another day.

Can I offer you a slice of fridge cake with your cuppa? I’ve been meaning to try Mel’s recipe for ages. When I was sorting out the larder cupboard during the week, I found a box of Maltesers, which had been languishing there since Christmas. Luckily I had everything else needed on hand and I could whip up a batch. Melt, stir and pop in the fridge to set. Super simple. Leave it there as long as you can bear! I left the topping off as we’re not fans of white chocolate around here.

Would you like to see what we made in class last week? I was really happy with how my first attempt at a ‘flip’ card turned out. There are lots of special dies available now, that cut and score in one go, but they are quite expensive and I’m not sure how often I would make this style of card. There’s usually an alternative way to do it. Not quite as straight forward of course, but not that tricky either.

We’ve got a busy week coming up, with my girl starting her work experience and having her bi-annual appointment with the consultant. Two classes in two different towns for me and a follow up appointment for my Mum. My boy has begun phase two of his A Level studies, now that the Year 12 exams are over, and needs to narrow down his choices for further study so that we can visit some universities. A few more weeks of school left for us. How about you? The summer holidays can’t come soon enough for me.

I’m linking up with Abi’s little tea party today and looking forward to catching up with everyone else. I’ve visited a few of you already as you’ve popped up in Feedly. That seems to be behaving itself again at the moment. Are you a fan or do you prefer Bloglovin’? I couldn’t get on with it myself and find Feedly much more user friendly.

Coffee and a Catch Up ~ April 2014

It’s that time of the month, when Abi invites us all to sit and have a cup of tea with her. Come in out of the rain. I’ve got a treat for you today.

I was talking pancakes on Friday. It occurred to me then, that they are very similar to the drop scones my Mum used to make sometimes for Sunday tea so I rustled up a batch in time for your visit. We mostly like syrup on ours, maple or golden?

I can’t believe we are now half way through the Friendship Quilt project. Are you taking part? It’s been such fun choosing fabrics, to suit each recipient’s chosen colour scheme. Those *might* be the trimmings from Deb’s block, which went in the post on Friday. I’m hoping that the postal system will get it to the USA a bit quicker than the one I sent to Australia, which is still out there somewhere after a month. 

I’ve stuck with a log cabin block for everyone, although I’ve been changing up the design a bit. I have a stack of strips and squares cut, ready to make duplicate blocks for myself. I love the thought of having a little piece of fabric in my quilt, that will also be in another, somewhere else around the world. I’m already thinking ahead to May and chose this fabric as the starting point for (the other) Deb’s Springtime colour scheme. I’ve set up a Pinterest board with all the blog posts, I’ve noticed, sharing blocks for the Friendship Quilt. If I’ve missed any, please let me know.

In other sewing news, the dress is coming along slowly but surely. Some hand sewing is the next job, which is not really my forte, slipstitching the waistband in place on the inside. The alternative is to stitch “in the ditch” so that the stitches disappear into the waistband seam on the outside, but they would show on the inside and (in my opinion) spoil the neat finish I’ve managed so far. Do you sew your clothes, or have plans to start? I commented on the Sewaholic blog the other day and that resulted in Linda visiting me. She has recently begun dressmaking and made her first dress a few months again. By some strange coincidence Linda chose exactly the same fabric as me! How I love the connections in the blogging world.

The first issue of a brand new magazine arrived last weekend. Among the many lovely projects and patterns in there, I came across this mini art wrap, which I’d previously pinned with the idea of making one for my girl. Next on the dressmaking list, is this cute sixties shift dress. It’s a reprinted vintage pattern and I’ll be making a plain version to begin with, but I think it would look good with the peter pan collar.

The children are back at school now after the Easter holidays, but it wasn’t much of a break for them this time. My girl has her art mock all day on Thursday and the rest of her exams the following week. My boy starts his AS Level exams soon too. Lots of revision, but we did manage to get out for an afternoon, over the Easter weekend. A walk in the sunshine, by the canal at Bradford On Avon.

Ah, its time for you to go now. Mind you don’t step on any of these as you leave. They are out in force after the heavy rain we had earlier. What news will you be sharing over our afternoon cuppa? I’m off to Abi’s place to find out.

Coffee and a Catch Up ~ March 2014

It’s actually been two months since I had you over for a cuppa and a chat, February just disappeared in a puff of smoke! Abi welcomes us all, no matter if we miss a month here and there. It’s always good to see you, whenever you have the time to stop by. Come on in, take the weight off your feet and I’ll tell you about my morning.

I went to speak to a local women’s group about paper crafting and showed them how I made the “Card in a Box” above. The hall was large and one or two of the more senior members of the group are a little hard of hearing so they asked me to use a microphone. It was certainly a challenge; stamping with one hand, while I held the mike in the other and explained what I was doing! Scoring and cutting proved impossible, but a very kind lady came to my rescue and held it for me.

After I’d given my talk, I encouraged everyone to come up and have a go at a simple decorated tag. It was then that a lady came over and asked me if I was a local girl. I said that I was, although only recently returned to Dorset after several years living in both Devon and Somerset. She asked, “Did your grandparents live in Z…?” A little taken aback, I said, “Yes.” She asked, “Was their surname H…?” Again, I said, “Yes!” She said, “You look just like your Mum. I went to school with her. Tell her that J… says hello.”

Now, here’s the fun part. J… gave me her phone number and I called in on my Mum on the way home. As I was telling her all about it, the phone rang and you’ve guessed it, it was J…! Too impatient to wait for my Mum to call her, she’d looked her up in the phone book. They’re meeting up for a coffee and a catch up of their own next week. They might need more than one, they haven’t seen each other for nearly sixty years!

Here I am rambling on and I haven’t asked about you. What’s been happening in your little corner of the world this month? If you’ve linked up with Abi, I’ll be round to find out later.

PS Did you spot the semi colon? Perhaps my girl’s early morning homework sank in!

Coffee and a Catch Up ~ January 2014

I’m linking up with the lovely Abi today. She invites us all to “Sit and have a cup of tea” with her and share our news.

Being British, we might well start by talking about the weather. Specifically, the endless rain we have had this month. I took this photo standing on the bridge, that leads across the river to the library. The water was sloshing right under my feet and was more or less level with the bank on the far side. We’ve lived here for six years now and I’ve never seen it quite that high before. Imagine if the library were to get flooded. In fact, no, I don’t even want to think about that. *shudder* Here in the South it’s been a very mild Winter without the crisp cold days and clear skies I love.

It’s mock exam season around here and with one embarking on his A Levels and the other her GCSEs, there’s a lot of revision needing to be done. Everyone needs a break though and not being able to get out much, we’ve been getting cosy and enjoying a film or a good board game and plenty of hearty casseroles. I’ve tried a few new recipes this month, some of which I’ll be sharing here, on the blog, very soon. Have you got a favourite tried and tested Winter warmer? I’m loving my slow cooker and it’s had quite a workout these past few weeks. So glad I bought it.

Have a look at this lovely selection of fabrics I received in the mail last week. I’m trying to be a bit more organised this year and get ahead with my blocks. The colours on the right are for Amy’s theme of “Seaside colours, washed and worn.” The silvery grey reminded me of driftwood. The two on the left are for Beverly’s Caribbean colour scheme. I already have some fabric in my stash to go with them. It’s so much fun picking out colours for everyone and I’m really enjoying this project. Maybe you’re joining in too. How are you finding it so far? Are you getting a little more adventurous as the months go by or, like me, sticking to a plan for everyone?

I’m a little late to the party, but in other news, I joined Instagram this month. Of course you may have already guessed that from the square photos gracing this blog post. The above being the almost mandatory lunch shot. I’m loving it. Beverly suggested that Friendship Quilt folk could post fabrics, that fitted their own colour scheme, to give others an idea of what they were hoping to receive. Does that sound like a good idea? I think most of you are already members, although not necessarily active ones. I am @angelfishcrafts over there and will be using the hashtag “friendshipquilt” unsurprisingly!

It’s been lovely to see you here today and I’ll be round to catch up on all your news soon. ‘Til the next time x

Coffee and a Catch Up….

….with Abi from Creating Paper Dreams.

Where to start? It’s been such a busy month and I have so much news to share with you. We had a chilled out first few days of the school holiday. My girl was so happy to finally have some relaxing time at home, after a busy term, and join her brother, who had finished school at the end of his exams, in the middle of June.

And yes, we do all have the same shoes!

During the first full week of the holidays we planned some more constructive activities. I wanted to get my girl more comfortable with the sewing machine, after her textile lessons at school had left her feeling wary. She tackled the first project with ease and ended up with a lovely new head band cut from an old school dress.

My boy likes to get out and about, but hay fever had other ideas and he was cooped up, with the air purifier going full blast, during the early part of August. He enjoyed spending time skyping and online gaming with his friends, painting a succession of Warhammer figures and having fun with his sister’s collection of Hama beads.

Last Thursday was GCSE results day, one anxiously awaited by 16 year olds all over the country. I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of my boy. His results are good by anyone’s standards, but even more so when you know that he is on the autistic spectrum. The school environment is such a challenge for him every single day and he has done amazingly well, in spite of all that life has dealt him. So proud.

We celebrated by taking a trip to Stonehenge. We walked around the stone circle and I had a few attempts at capturing sun flare. Something I love to see in other’s photos. We parked the car nearby and enjoyed a picnic as the sun went down.

On Friday we went to Bristol and spent a good few hours hunting Gromits. This one, aptly named ‘A Close Shave’, was in the Tourist Information Centre. They closed 5 minutes before we arrived and I had to content myself with snapping him through the window. The most tantalising thing was the sight of the passport franking gadget on the table at the back of the room. You can just see it top right in the photo. We tracked down 31 of the 80 on display all over the city and surrounding areas. I don’t think we’ll have a chance to visit the one on display at Paddington Station.

Yesterday we went to visit magnificent Montacute House and I had another attempt at capturing sun flare! We admired the architecture, played croquet on the Cedar Lawn, took a tour of the house and spent an hour among the past Kings and Queens of England, in the portrait gallery at the top of the house.

It was interesting to stand in front of the painting of Richard III and think of the actor who played that part in the recent dramatisation of The White Queen. Did you watch it? What did you think? I enjoyed it, but felt they tried to pack a bit too much history into the series. It was well acted and I like the witchcraft element, which made it a bit different.

There’s not been much time for TV this month, although I did manage to catch Top of the Lake, on the iplayer, which I enjoyed immensely. The acting was superb and it was beautifully shot among the mountains and lakes of New Zealand. A dark story set in a rural community. It reminded me a lot of the Red Riding trilogy, which co-incidentally also starred Peter Mullan. He plays damaged characters so well.

We’ve also been to the beach and the bowling alley, caught Monsters University at the cinema and celebrated my inlaws’ Golden Wedding Anniversary, with a big family party that lasted all day and well into the next one!

The Mechanic has gone back to work today and will probably be glad of the rest. I always let the housework slide during the holidays, because I’d much rather spend time with my children, but there are some things that still need to be done. It’s a catch up day for me today and now that my coffee is drunk and I have rambled on quite long enough, I’d better get back to those chores.

Thanks for dropping by. I’m looking forward to reading what everyone else has been up to, but that will have to wait until lunch time and perhaps afternoon tea as well.

I’ll be back with my desk tomorrow.

PS That lovely swing, big enough for me and my girl, is at Montacute House and sadly not in our garden.