See it, Pin it, Do it! ~ March Edition

Here we are again, with a week to go until the end of the month. Have you made anything you’ve Pinned this month? Want to join me? I’d love to have you along.

I’ve been making Grandmother’s Flower Garden blocks this month, from some instructions I pinned a very long time ago, all the way back in November 2012. The block was intended for a project which didn’t get off the ground and ended up among the other UFOs in my cupboard, until now. I can’t show you that one just yet though.

I completed two other blocks, while I was away on a crafty weekend, and have a few more basted hexies ready to whip stitch together when the mood takes me. They are perfect to sew in front of the TV and not as anti social as a whirring sewing machine! Very transportable too and everything I need fits into the clutch I made.

All the instructions/videos can be found in the November post I’ve linked to. The only difference is that I cut hexagons from my fabric rather than using squares. I have the die so it made sense to do that.

Big thanks to everyone who joined in last month. We had a great selection of projects between us, from artisan bread, cakes and salads to cards, jewellery, scrapbook pages and art journalling. You can find them all on the SIPIDI Pinterest board. What will March bring? I can’t wait to find out.

If you fancy joining in this month, you can find all the information right here.

Simply A Moment ~ Saturday Morning 7.50am

I’m sharing a moment for March, along with Alexa over at Trimming the Sails.

I stand at the sink, hands plunged into the warm water, admiring my lovely daffs on the windowsill. I can almost believe that Spring is on its way.

We had a late drive home, after celebrating our niece’s eighteenth birthday with her. Much later bedtimes than our norm, but me and my girl were still up at our usual hour. I don’t think either of us is fully awake, but home work and chores have commenced. Good to get them out of the way, while it’s quiet. The dishes for me, a work sheet on semi colons and commas for her.

She has my habit of reading the sentences aloud, to hear where the pause should be, before deciding on the punctuation. “If it rains this afternoon, I’ll catch the bus home.” I smile to myself as I listen to her. Then comes the corker. “Istanbul, which is not the capital of Turkey, used to be called Concertinapole.” We both dissolve into fits of laughter, until our sides are aching. As I suspected, not quite awake yet.

PS This was last Saturday, but I’m still laughing as I read it again!

One Photo in Twenty Words ~ Old Friends

A little late to the party this month, I’m joining Abi’s lovely meme.

Old friends. The best kind. The kind where the distance of twenty seven years falls away in about ten seconds.

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday? #249

I didn’t intend to leave it a week between blog posts, but that’s the way of things around here lately. Another Wednesday, another desk hop around the world.

My desk is filled with some of the chaos I left behind, when I packed last Friday, to go on a crafty weekend in Herefordshire. That’s mostly been pushed to one side, to make room for the boxes I took with me, while I unpack them and put things back where they came from. Sort of.

In between the chatter, cake eating, drinking and laughter, lots of laughter, I managed fifteen cards and two Grandmother’s Flower Garden blocks. I’m happy with that.

What have been the fruits of your crafty labours this week?

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday? #248

I’m up with the lark today. In fact I think I may have beaten him to it. It’s lovely to hear the birdsong again in the early mornings, sadly lacking during the endless rain.

Anyhow, you’re not here for a weather report, onto the desk. Yesterday was “kitting” day again. Kraft and wood grain putting in another appearance, as well as a touch of peach and a few butterflies. No doilies this week, but the ruffled ribbon has sneaked back onto my desk. No idea what that lolly is doing in the middle there!

Here’s a better look at the little box, in case you wanted one. You’ve seen everything else we made last time. One of those cards made it onto the UK Scrappers home page. I’m in fine company. That was an exciting discovery on a cold and wet Monday morning. Oh, and we’re back to the weather!

Time for me to drink up my rooibos and pack the contents of the kitchen table into boxes. I just have to do it on the morning, or I have to unpack it again, to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything crucial. It hasn’t happened yet. Did I really just say that?

Julia is hosting our weekly desk hopping as always. Why don’t you pop over and say “Hi!” You’d be most welcome.

My Month in Numbers ~ February 2014

February was a short month (as always!) and when I came to write this post, I couldn’t think of much that had happened. I turned to my IG feed to help me out.

I posted 29 photos on Instagram, among them 10 shots for Hilary Rushford’s #StyleMeFeb challenge.

I started the month well, but fell by the wayside once half term was upon us. 10 whole days with the company of my lovely children.

Inches of rainfall recorded for February: A lot! You may remember the first picture from January, when the water rose right up to the railings, around the library car park. I took a similar shot last month, to show the full extent of the flooding. Now you can see where the water should have been. It’s been back up since I took that.

Number of blue skies spotted: Not nearly enough. I find it funny that my neighbours have a palm tree in their garden. It makes it look like I live by the seaside. On a day when the sky looked like that, I had a huge sort out of all my UFOs* and the projects that I have the wherewithal for, but so far only exist inside my head.

I now have a large box containing the fabric I already have for 7 (eek!) different things and a list of bits and bobs that I need to complete them. I also have one finished clutch. Go me! It makes all the difference to have everything you need in one place.

Nine lovely readers have joined in (so far) with the first month of my new SIPIDI! meme, including Sheena with her wonderful Cookie Monster cup cakes.** That makes me so happy. It’s giving me a push to use more of my Pins too. Win, win!

On the food front, I baked 32 Cornish Fairings, cooked 56 breakfast pancakes, ate 4 roast dinners and tried 2 new recipes this month.

Looks like more went on during February than I imagined. If you want to see what everyone else has been counting up this month, then head on over to Julie’s place.

*UFOs = Unfinished Objects. We all have those, right?

**I wanted to make a collage of all the Pinterest inspired projects, but couldn’t figure out how and as the afternoon is slipping away from me I’ve given up…..this time.

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday? # 247

No, your eyes are not deceiving you, that really is sunshine falling across my desk.

That hint of brighter light was enough to prompt me into having a bit of a sort out. As far as my work space goes, it just made it all that much untidier. It’s got to get worse before it gets better though, hasn’t it? I shoved all the paper crafting stuff up to one end to make room for some sewing bits and pieces.

I have so many projects that I want to have a go at and more than enough fabric in my stash, yet whenever I decide to begin something, there always seems to be a vital ingredient missing! My mission this week is to pair fabric with patterns/ideas and see what else is needed to complete these projects.

The next step will be to buy zips, interfacing, matching thread etc. so that I have everything on hand when the mood takes me and I have a bit of a time to sew. I did manage to finish one thing last week, which has been hanging around half made for ages. Mainly through fear of messing it up with the glue and getting it everywhere.

The sewing part was easy and came together very quickly. I think I shared that before, but couldn’t find the post, which shows how long ago it must have been. I distinctly remember having a discussion with Lisa-Jane about kiss clasps. Well, finally the fabric and the clasp came together and I’m pretty happy with the result.

Now onto a bit of shameless self promotion. That’s if you’ve got this far, I seem to have waffled on more than is usual for a Wednesday! If you’re visiting from WOYWW, then I already know you love to see what other people have been making and like to join in with a meme. Perhaps you would consider mine?

It involves taking some of those ideas, you’ve carefully filed away on Pinterest and bringing them to life. Whether that be a crafty project, organisation strategy or simply something good to eat. All the details can be found here.

Even if you don’t fancy joining in, it’s worth checking out this month’s post to see what everyone else has had a go at. As my friend Rosey said, it’s nice to see things made by real people, rather than Martha Stewart!